Mismatched
by neesah
Summary: Semi yaoi. Romantic Comedy. It's Quatre and Relena's first year wedding anniversary. But why is it that it's Heero she's celebrating with? [wink, wink] Has lemon part.
1. Surprise!!!

Mismatched   
  
**Disclaimer: **I own Gundam Wing. Not. Seriously, I don't (Please don't sue me).   
  
This is my first attempt on (semi) yaoi. I intended this to be a romantic comedy so if you don't find it funny, just laugh anyways coz I failed in making it funny [sigh]. Well, to be honest, I have a different sense of humor. I always find ironies very funny, as you can see from my two humor fics. And this fic will be full of ironies. For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Mismatched**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Chapter 1: Surprise!!!**

  
  
  
**AC 200 (L4 Colony) **

Relena winced as the new Prime Minister for the South Pacific Region hugged her tight for the nth time that afternoon. She could feel his hands moving further down her back. Seeing her predicament, Quatre cleared his throat and discreetly pulled her away from the Prime Minister's grasp. Sighing in relief, Relena snuggled closer to Quatre, one of his arms wrapped protectively around her waist.

Smiling sheepishly, the Prime Minister said, "You really have a very lovely wife, Mr. Winner."

Quatre smiled at him. "Yes, I know. I'm a very lucky man."

"Indeed," he answered, still ogling Relena. Relena smiled uneasily at him. _ Geez, it sure feels like he's undressing me with his gaze, _ she thought. 

"Now I know why you found it necessary to elope with her. I have the urge myself to elope with her right this minute," the Prime Minister added. His words made Quatre and Relena cringe but both being good diplomats, they managed to hide their uneasiness and instead smiled good-naturedly at him. "What I don't understand are the rumors about you having an affair with that other Gundam Pilot turned head of the Preventer base here in L4. I can clearly see that you're very much a man such as myself. And that you're very happy with your wife."

Quatre's grip tightened around Relena's waist though his smile didn't waver. Sensing Quatre's discomfort, Relena jumped to the rescue. "You know how the media is Prime Minister. They always manage to either get things out of context or blow it out of proportion. But rumors aside, it has been a pleasure having you here. We hope that you visit us again," she said as graciously as she can, her mind chanting the opposite. _ God, you're the creepiest person I have ever met. Please go away and don't ever come back. _

"Of course I wouldn't dream of refusing an invitation from such a vision of loveliness like you, Vice Foreign Minister," the old pervert answered, taking Relena's hand to kiss it. Quatre saw that he has no intention of letting Relena's hand go soon so he said, "I think your ride is waiting for you, Prime Minister. You better hurry or else you might miss your flight." _ Allah forbid that ever happens, _ he prayed silently. 

Releasing her hand, the Prime Minister looked over his shoulder and saw the limo parked by the Winner mansion's driveway. He turned his head back to address the couple. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mr and Mrs Winner. Goodbye." After giving Relena one last kiss, he walked towards the limo and went in.

Quatre and Relena waved wholeheartedly at the departing limo, relief washing over them as they saw the limo exit the gate. Finally, they got rid of that nosy, perverted bastard. They went back inside the house, heading straight to the den. 

Trowa looked up from his book when they came in. Quatre sat down beside him on the couch while Relena settled on a nearby loveseat. After glancing around, Relena asked, "Trowa, where's Heero?"

Trowa closed his book and placed it on top of the table. "He went outside saying that he just need to take care of something," he answered flatly but his one visible eye twinkled with mischief.

Both Relena and Quatre cocked an eyebrow. They didn't like the sound of that. Suddenly, they heard a loud popping noise followed by a crash coming from outside.

"What was that?" Quatre said as he ran to the window. But he didn't see anything. As if on cue, Heero strode casually inside the room. Quatre and Relena eyed him carefully as he sat down beside Relena, both not failing to notice the satisfied smirk on his face. 

"Ok, Heero, spill it," Relena said. She knew well enough that unexplained loud noises and Heero smirking were not mere coincidences. "What was that all about?"

"The Prime Minister's limo blew a tire," Heero answered.

"Blew a tire? That didn't sound like a tire blowing up to me. And how in the world would his limo blow a tire?" Quatre asked incredulously.

"Oh, it was an accident. A stray bullet hit one of the tires and the limo skidded off then turned over."

"WHAT?! What did you do that for?!" Quatre yelled.

"He's fawning over my wife," he calmly stated as he put his arm around Relena's shoulders. Relena beamed at him.

Quatre sighed. "Yes, I know. And I tried my best to keep his hands off her. But as much as I wanted to shoot his limo too, didn't you realize that he might decide to spend the night here now that his limo is not going anywhere? Or worse he might get hurt and stay here longer. I couldn't stand another second with that scumbag. And how can we explain the bullet?"

"Don't worry. Nobody was hurt. And I already sent one of your limos with a medic to check up on him and his driver and to give him a ride to the spaceport. Besides, I called the spaceport and told them to wait for the Prime Minister because he'll be late. There was a failed assassination attempt on his life."

Quatre shook his head, smiling. It was like Heero to make a revenge as thorough as this one. And without getting anyone killed or suspicious too. Just rattled. "It's a good thing that I haven't fawned Relena over this course of time that we are supposedly married. Or else you might have killed me already."

"I don't believe you're capable of such actions, Quatre. They might call me the Perfect Soldier but you're the Perfect Gentleman."

"And we're all friends here. You wouldn't do anything that'll hurt your friends, would you?" Trowa amended.

"Yeah. I'm very much confident that you'll never take advantage of me, Quatre," Relena told him. "And thank you for saving me many times from the claws of that dirty, old man."

"No need to thank me. You're my wife too, you know," Quatre answered. Seeing the way Heero was looking at him, he added, "My wife in front of the whole ESUN, I mean."

Relena sighed and snuggled closer to Heero. "Tomorrow will be our supposedly first year wedding anniversary. And to be honest, I'm getting tired of this situation. No offense, Quatre."

"None taken. I know what you mean. I'm getting tired of all this pretending too. It's hard to hide from everybody whom you really love," Quatre remarked, taking Trowa's hand in his. Trowa gave him a small smile. "And I know that it's harder for you, Relena. If only the rumors about me and Trowa didn't come out, jeopardizing not only my position as the head of the Colony Delegates but also the Winner Corporation's business deals and if my sisters weren't badgering me to get married and have an heir, I wouldn't have drag you into this mess."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You didn't drag me into this mess, I dragged myself into this mess. The ESUN Council made a ruling for me to marry a Colony Delegate to secure an alliance between the colonies and the Earth. Even Milliardo couldn't do anything to change their minds. It was just pure luck that we both needed to trade favors --- you, looking for a fake wife and me looking for a fake Colony delegate husband. Not only did we make the Council and your sisters happy, we also came up with this brilliant 'arrangement'."

"I never thought that having Duo as a priest will come in handy," Trowa said. "With him, you and Quatre could pretend to elope, announcing that Duo married you secretly, having the rest of us as your witnesses and nobody will doubt the authenticity of your words."

"But in fact, Duo married us," Heero stated.

"Yes. Everything was neatly arranged. Still, we all know that we couldn't keep this charade forever. We just managed to delay the inevitable, to avoid getting married to a person someone else had chosen for us. Sooner or later, we have to tell Noin, Zechs and the whole ESUN the truth. And may Allah help us when that day comes," Quatre told them.

"Especially when Relena gets pregnant and gives birth to a child who has brown hair and Prussian blue eyes," Trowa commented. The four of them laughed at the thought though they didn't notice that Relena's laugh was a little bit forced and tensed.

Heero glanced at his watch then said, "Trowa, we better go. Lady Une will be calling the HQ within 30 minutes to hear our monthly report regarding the status of the Preventer base here."

Trowa nodded and kissed Quatre goodbye. Heero gave Relena a quick kiss on the mouth. "I'll be back before dinner," he promised. Relena and Quatre watched the love of their lives walked toward the door and leave.

  
  


** The next morning… **

"Master Quatre! Master Quatre! Wake up, Master Quatre!" Rashid said as he continued pounding on the door.

Quatre lifted his head from Trowa's shoulders and looked at the clock. 7:00 am. "What is it, Rashid?" he asked sleepily.

"Milliardo Peacecraft and his wife Noin are here to see you."

"Ok," Quatre answered groggily as he settled back to Trowa's arms. Then, Rashid's words sank to his brain. "WHAT?!"

Trowa was awakened by Quatre's outburst. "What's what, Quatre?" he inquired as he kissed his lover's golden head.

"Noin and Zechs are here."

Trowa immediately jumped out of bed and got dressed. "What will I say to them, Master Quatre?" Rashid asked behind the closed door.

"Tell them that we'll be down after a few minutes. We need to take a shower first," Quatre instructed. He then went to his vidphone and punched some keys.

  
  


Heero heard a beeping sound. He untangled himself from Relena and pressed a button on his laptop resting on the bedside table. Quatre's image appeared on the screen.

"Heero! Wake Relena up quick! Zechs and Noin are here."

"Huh?" Heero jerked into a sitting position. "Where's Trowa?"

"He's already back in his room. Get Relena in here, hurry!" The call was then terminated.

Heero turned his attention to his wife. "Relena, wake up. Noin and Zechs are here," he said while shaking her awake.

Relena rolled to the side and stood up. She sleepily started getting dressed. "Why would they visit without telling us? And why this early in the morning?"

"I don't know. But we'll find out soon."

After they both got dressed, they went to the bookshelf by the East wall. Heero pulled a book then put his thumb on a concealed thumbprint checker monitor. The shelf slid to the left revealing another wall. Heero knocked at the wall three times. They saw the wall parted as Trowa opened it from his side. The pair went in Trowa's room. Trowa then pushed a camouflaged button on the opposite wall, revealing an entrance to Quatre's room. Quatre approached them as Relena and Heero entered. 

"I have to commend your foresight, Heero. Putting connecting doors in our rooms was really a good idea. It'll make sneaking around easier."

  
  


** Thirty minutes later... **

Noin and Zechs stood up as Quatre and Relena entered the drawing room. "Milliardo! Noin! It's nice of you to visit us," Relena said as she hugged her brother then Noin.

"I can see that married life suits you well, Relena," Noin replied, hugging her back. The older woman could see Relena glowing with happiness.

Quatre shook hands with Zechs then hugged Noin. "You should have told us you're coming. We could have picked you up from the spaceport," Quatre told them.

The four of them sat down. Quatre and Relena sat on the left couch while Zechs and Noin sat opposite them. "Well, we wanted to surprise both of you so we didn't call. Sorry if we came too early in the morning. Noin and I are just excited to share with you your first year wedding anniversary," Zechs explained.

Relena reached out to squeeze Quatre's hand. "Thank you for remembering. It means a lot to us."

"Aside from that, we also thought that this would be a good opportunity for a family get together. We haven't seen each other since you two eloped. So we decided to stay here for a week, if that's ok with you," Noin said.

Quatre and Relena looked at each other, both having one thought in their heads. _ Uh-oh, this spells trouble. _

"Of course it's ok with us. You're family. You can stay for as long as you like," Quatre offered.

"What about the twins? And the Sanc Kingdom? How can the Kingdom function without it's Chief Representative?" Relena asked.

"We left Zoe and Laird with Mrs. Darlian. You know how much she loves those two-yr old monsters," Noin answered with affection.

"As for the Kingdom, I left Viceroy Dariñas in-charge for the duration of my stay here. And I told him to call me immediately if ever a problem brews. Though I doubt that'll happen," Zechs added.

A knock interrupted their conversation. "Come in," Quatre called out. The butler entered the room and announced, "Breakfast is served, Master Quatre."

"Good," he answered as he helped Relena up. Noin and Zechs followed suit. "Are Trowa and Heero in the dining room yet?"

"No, sir. But we already informed them of breakfast. They'll be down any minute."

"Thanks, Ray." Quatre offered an arm to Relena and the four of them followed Ray to the dining room.

  
  
****************************************** 

After breakfast Quatre, Relena, Zechs, Noin, Trowa and Heero went to the drawing room to continue their conversation, updating each other with what was happening in their respective lives. An hour passed by when suddenly Noin asked, "Don't you have any meetings today, Relena?"

"Nope. Great isn't it? And just in time for my wedding anniversary," Relena replied and without thinking, beamed at Heero who was sitting across her beside Noin. Noin and Zechs gave her a funny look while Heero glared at her. Quatre tried to salvage the situation. 

"Alright, dear, I know you asked Heero for help in picking out my anniversary gift so where is it?" 

Relena sighed in relief. "I can't hide anything from you, huh? Well, we're just going to get it, aren't we, Heero?"

Heero shot her a questioning look before nodding. Relena stood up and kissed Quatre on the cheek. "I'll just go upstairs and get my purse. We'll be back soon," she told everyone before walking out of the room, Heero trailing behind her. 

After the two left, Quatre and Trowa felt uncomfortable. They didn't know if they should scoot closer to each other since there was a big space between them left by Relena. But before they could decide, they heard Zechs speak. "Pardon me for asking this but isn't it risky to have Heero around here? I mean, you're friends and all and I don't have anything against the guy but you know how crazy Relena was with him and he with Relena. It's true that they broke up a week before you eloped but they might… well, be **tempted**, so to speak."

Trowa blinked while Quatre tried to stifle a laugh and make a straight face. Zechs was concerned that Relena might cheat on Quatre? And with Heero too, who was actually her husband? Everything was so funny and they would had laughed out loud if not for the consequences they had to face later.

"Don't worry, Zechs. I trust both my wife and my friend. Besides, you know the fact that Heero is the only person capable of protecting Relena. I was also a Gundam pilot but I couldn't be with her every moment because of my job. And I wouldn't jeopardize her safety by firing Heero as her bodyguard just because he was her ex-boyfriend."

"You're right," Zechs agreed. _ But I still think it's risky. Heero spends more time with Relena than Quatre. I better keep an eye on those two. _

"Speaking of gifts, what is your anniversary present for Relena, hmm?" Noin asked Quatre.

Quatre stiffened. They forgot to arrange for fake gifts. "Oh, it's a secret, Noin. I helped Quatre find the perfect gift for Relena. She'll definitely like it," Trowa answered quietly. 

  
  
************************************** 

Relena entered the master's bedroom, Heero closing the door behind them. "That was a close one," Relena said as she looked for her purse. 

Heero snaked his arms around her waist. "Hn. Be careful next time."

Relena sighed. "They'll be here for the whole week. Can we keep up this act that long? Any of us might slip."

"Maybe it's a sign. Maybe it's time for the four of us to come clean."

Relena looked at him. "I know that you're getting tired of this too, Heero. And as much as I like to tell them the truth right this minute, I can't. We have to talk to Trowa and Quatre first. They have more to lose than us."

"I understand. Don't think that I'm pressuring you," he told her gently, his Prussian blue eyes looking right into her sky blue ones. He then leaned down and captured her lips for a passionate kiss. When they pulled apart, Heero smiled at her. "Happy Anniversary, Relena."

"Happy Anniversary to you too," Relena answered. A frown suddenly appeared on her face. "So we have to scrap the romantic dinner huh? Since Noin and Milliardo are here."

"I'm afraid so. But don't worry, we have all night to celebrate," Heero told her huskily. 

She coyly smiled. "I'm looking forward to that and your present, Mr. Yuy. But I think we should better go now and get Quatre ** his ** present." 

The two proceeded to go down the stairs. Heero was about to open the main door for Relena when the doorbell rang. Heero's hand on the knob stilled, his other hand gripped the gun on his waist. He then slowly opened the door.

"SURPRISE!!!"

Relena and Heero stood frozen on spot when they saw Duo, Hilde, Catherine, Dorothy, Sally and Wufei by the doorway.

"Happy Anniversary!" Hilde said as she hugged Relena. Dorothy, Sally and Catherine did the same.

"Hey, leave some for me," Duo said as he hugged Relena. "Looking good, Jousan. I can see that my buddy has been taking good care of you." He gave Heero a sly grin. Heero just nodded at him.

"Heero," Wufei greeted.

"Wufei," Heero responded.

"Sorry if we came unexpectedly. We want to surprise you since it's your anniversary," Dorothy explained.

"Yeah. We thought that we could do something fun. That's why we'll be staying for the whole week," Sally added. 

Relena and Heero remained staring at them.

"Heero? Relena? Aren't you glad to see us?" Hilde asked.

Relena snapped out of her trance and smiled at her friends. "Oh sorry. Don't get us wrong. We're really glad that you're here. It's just that this is the second surprise we got this morning."

"Come inside," Heero told them.

Catherine smiled at him. She felt comfortable with Heero, maybe because he and her brother were so alike. "And I thought you've changed. Don't be so uptight, Heero. Afterall, it's your anniv---" she trailed off as she saw Quatre, Trowa, Noin and Zechs emerged from the drawing room.

"Hey, Noin! Zechs! So you're here too for Relena and Heer---" he stopped in midsentence when he felt Heero's foot stomped on his. Wincing he continued, "I mean **her** husband, Quatre's first year wedding anniversary." _ Nice recovery, baka, _ Duo told himself. Everybody who knew about the secret sighed in relief.

Noin and Zechs looked at each other, puzzled with what was going on. Noin then smiled at them. "Yes. And we'll be staying here for a whole week."

"Great! We'll be staying here for the whole week too. Lady Une gave Wufei and me a week off," Sally informed them. 

"How about the circus, Cathy? Don't you have any shows? And your parish in L2 too, Duo. How can it function without its priest?" Quatre asked.

"Well, the manager gave me the week off too. Sort of a vacation," Catherine replied. 

"Don't worry about my parish, Q-man. I'm not the only priest there. I need the vacation too you know." 

"I thought priests don't have vacations," Trowa said. 

"What do you expect from Maxwell, Trowa? He's the only priest in the whole ESUN who'll ask for a vacation or enjoy drinking the wine during communion," Wufei remarked. 

Duo nodded his head solemnly. "What can I say? I'm the most special and unique priest in the whole galaxy." Everybody shook their heads, smiling. They hate to admit it but it's true. And it's comforting to know that there are some things that will never change. 

"What about you, Dorothy? How did you manage to take the week off?" Relena inquired. 

"Simple. I just told my Board of Directors that I'll go on a vacation and if they won't let me I'll go crazy and attack them with my fencing foil," Dorothy answered with amusement. "Besides, I own the company, I can do whatever I want." She then remembered that Heero and Relena were the ones who opened the door, not the butler. "Are you two going somewhere, Relena?"

"Uh-huh. Heero and I are going to get my present for Quatre."

"We better go, Relena," Heero told her.

Quatre looked at the grandfather clock. "I think I should go too. I have an important board meeting. And I have to pick up Relena's present."

"So you don't hide presents from each other nowadays." Dorothy commented.

"They intended it to be a secret but Quatre just discovered Relena's plan for him this morning so there's no use hiding anymore," Zechs answered.

Trowa addressed Quatre. "I'll come with you. I need to go to the Preventers HQ to check up on things."

"Speaking of which, Lady Une instructed me to give you this," Wufei said, handing Trowa a disk.

"What? You're all going to leave us here?" Hilde asked.

"Sorry but we have to. In the meantime, make yourselves at home. You can pass time in the recreation room, entertainment room, or in the pool house. You can also do combat practice in the training room. We'll be back just in time for lunch," Quatre said.

"Bye! See you guys later," Relena called out as she, Heero and Quatre went out of the mansion. Trowa gave Catherine a hug and a kiss before following them out and closing the door.

The 8 people left looked at each other. Catherine was the first one to speak. "Anyone wants to be my target as I practice my knife-throwing? It'll be fun."

  
  


** Outside **

Heero, Relena, Quatre and Trowa stopped a few feet away from Quatre's limo. They could see Quatre's personal bodyguards, Rashid and Abdul waiting inside the limo.

"So this means we have to cancel our trip to the cabin tonight," Quatre said to Trowa.

"Yes. We only planned to go anyways to give Heero and Relena a chance to be alone for a romantic dinner since they couldn't go out and have a romantic dinner in a restaurant without the risk of being caught. And by the looks of it, they have to cancel too."

"You got it right, Trowa. But we could do all of these next time and we had been pretty much secluded this past year to do anything we want. I'm really glad that they're all here but the odds of us slipping increased by 110%," Relena told them.

"We just have to be more careful. And we should get all of our stories straight. Starting from the gifts. Relena and I will buy you a gift, Quatre. Then just pretend that the gift that I'll give Relena came from you," Heero instructed.

"Good idea. What about the others?" Quatre asked.

"Don't worry about them. After the initial blunder they'll be extra careful," Trowa assured him.

"Well then, now that everything is settled, we should get going," Relena said.

"Ok, bye," Quatre said as he and Trowa went inside the limo. Relena and Heero, on the other hand, went in the direction of Heero's parked MB Convertible. The two cars then drove off in opposite directions. 

  
  
  
Next in Mismatched... During the night somebody screamed a name so loud everybody heard it [wink, wink]. Will it cause more trouble for the mismatched couples? (Lemon) 


	2. A scream is worth a thousand words

Mismatched   
  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gundam Wing, doo dah, doo dah. I really don't own Gundam Wing, oh, ah doo dah dey.   
  
Lemon alert. Both yaoi and straight. I hope I didn't make it dirty. For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Mismatched**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Chapter 2: A scream is worth a thousand words **

  
  
  


After lunch, the whole gang lounged by the pool. Zechs carefully watched Heero and Relena. Suffice to say that his fears were put to rest. Relena never left Quatre's side all afternoon while Heero maintained his distance. Heero and Relena might had been lovers in the past but Zechs was pretty sure that now, Heero was just a bodyguard and a friend to Relena, nothing more.

Zechs saw Heero went inside the house. He assumed that the younger man was going to get a drink. He let a few minutes passed by before he decided to follow him inside. They might had been rivals once but they always had respected and admired each other. They were kindred spirits. And being kindred spirits, he knew that there was something he needed to say to him. Turning to his wife he said, "I'm going to get us some drinks. The usual? " Noin nodded then continued talking with Relena and Quatre.

Heero just finished preparing his drink when Zechs entered the bar. "What do you want?" Heero asked behind the counter, offering to make him a drink.

"A blowjob will be fine," Zechs answered, taking a seat at the counter.

Heero paused and stared at him for a moment, making sure that they were both talking about the same thing and not something else before preparing Zechs' drink.

Zechs watched him for a few seconds before clearing his throat. "I know how much you love Relena. And I can't imagine how difficult it was for you to let her go. That's why I want to thank you for everything you've done to make her happy. I assume that you gave her and Quatre your blessing since they couldn't have eloped without your permission. And you're still here by her side, protecting her with your own life even if she's married to another man. I know that it's too late to say this but I owe you the truth. Heero, I've always expected, no, I've always ** wanted ** you to be my brother-in-law."

To Zechs's amazement, Heero actually gave him a smile. Looking at his blue eyes, Zechs could clearly see that he was deeply touched and somewhat amused. Heero finished mixing his drink and handed it to him.

"You don't owe me anything, Zechs. Nonetheless, thank you for thinking so highly of me. And for all that it is worth, I've always wanted to be your brother-in-law too," Heero replied.

"So it's here you both disappeared to," Quatre greeted as he entered the bar. 

Heero picked up his drink and nodded at Zechs before leaving. Quatre went straight to the counter, occupying the space Heero just vacated. He started pouring two drinks, one for him, the other for Relena.

"Have you been there long?" Zechs asked. Quatre grinned sheepishly. "Quatre, I'm---"

The blonde Arabian raised a hand to stop him. "No need to explain, Zechs. I understand."

"No. Don't get me wrong. It's true that I've wanted Heero to marry Relena because I've always thought that he's the only man who could make her happy. But seeing her now, with you, I realized I was wrong. You can also make her happy. Thank you for taking such good care of her, Quatre," Zechs explained.

Quatre smiled at him though he felt guilty. Zechs was getting sentimental on all of them and he didn't even know that everything was a lie. _ I sure hope he'll forgive us when he finds out the truth. Though this is good blackmail material, _ Quatre silently said. "It's my pleasure, Zechs. But I'm not the only one you should be thanking. Trowa and Heero took good care of her too. You know that we'll do anything for Relena. And don't fret about anything. I'm not mad or offended with what you said to Heero. In fact I'm happy that you finally told him what you really feel. You don't know how much that means to him." Quatre then tapped his glass against Zechs' for a toast. "To you and your family," Quatre told him.

"As to you and yours," Zechs replied as they both took a sip, wishing both to have long and happy lives.

  
  


** Meanwhile... **

Noin and Relena sat back on their lounge chairs as they watched Trowa and Wufei throw Duo in the pool. "Uh-oh," Relena commented as she saw that the splash Duo made disrupted not only Catherine and Sally's silent reverie as they floated on their inflatable chairs but also Hilde and Dorothy's freestyle race. The two women laughed as they saw Trowa and Wufei ran away from 4 females seeking vengeance.

Chuckling, Noin turned to Relena. "I forgot how fun and refreshing it is to be with you guys."

"So have I. I hope that we could do this often."

"I agree," Noin replied. She then saw Relena's expression change when Heero emerged from the house and walked to their friends to help the girls throw Wufei and Trowa in the pool. "Umm, Relena, I've been meaning to ask you something. I hope that you won't get offended."

Relena looked at her. "What is it, Noin? You know that you can ask me anything."

Noin took a deep breath before asking, "Are you really happy, Relena?"

"Of course. I've never been happier. Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to make sure that you made the right decision in marrying Quatre. I mean, I know that you much rather marry Heero and that you wouldn't be able to love Quatre as much as you loved him but at least you and Quatre are friends. And I'm glad that you got to marry him instead of some other Colony delegate."

"Thanks for your concern, Noin. But I'm really happy with my decision. Besides, Quatre and I are bestfriends, you know that."

"But what about Heero?"

Relena looked away. She didn't want to look at Noin straight in the eye then lie. "What about him? I'm married, he's my bodyguard and that's that."

"And Trowa?"

Relena turned to look at her again. "Trowa?" 

"Don't tell me you don't know. Everyone has heard of Trowa and Quatre's relationship. I know that it's all in the past like yours and Heero's but don't you get jealous of him? Aren't you afraid that they just might be tempted to… you know, rekindle their old flame?"

Relena's eyes grew wide as she put her hand on her mouth. Seeing her reaction, Noin hastily said, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to imply anything or to offend you, Relena."

Actually, Relena wasn't offended. She covered her mouth so she could stop herself from laughing. Noin was actually afraid that Quatre might cheat on her and rekindle his relationship with Trowa? If only Noin knew the truth. _ Oh, this is so hilarious. I have to tell this to them, _ Relena thought. 

Regaining composure, Relena removed her hand from her mouth and shook her head. "Don't feel bad, Noin. I understand your concern. But there's no need to worry. I have my husband and friend's full trust. They wouldn't do anything that will hurt any of us," she said, smiling her assurance. 

Noin smiled back. Their conversation was cut short when they saw Zechs and Quatre headed toward them, both carrying drinks for themselves and their respective wives.

  


***************************

The twelve friends decided to go out for dinner. Afterwhich, they went dancing. Since Duo and Hilde, Noin and Zechs, Quatre and Relena, Wufei and Sally were all paired up, Heero ended up escorting Catherine while Trowa escorted Dorothy. Though they were somewhat mismatched, all of them managed to have a great time. It was late when they got home and everybody was tired so after a series of goodnights, they immediately retired to their respective rooms.

  
  


** Inside the Master's bedroom… **

"Goodnight, Relena," Quatre said, as he pushed the camouflaged button. The connecting door opened.

"Goodnight," Relena replied, kissing him on the cheek. She then slipped in Trowa's room and saw Trowa standing by the bookshelf. She stood on tiptoe and kissed him goodnight.

"Goodnight," Trowa told her. He pulled a book from the shelf then put his thumb on the thumbprint checker monitor. The shelf slid to the left. They saw that Heero already opened the shelf on his side so Relena just stepped inside into her husband's waiting arms. The two silent pilots nodded at each other then both shelves slid back.

Trowa went to Quatre's room and closed the connecting door. He saw Quatre remove his dinner jacket and throw it to the ground. Trowa smiled. He went to him and whirled him around. Without breaking eye contact, Trowa slowly and seductively undid the buttons on Quatre's shirt. He slipped it off and started caressing Quatre's neck with his tongue, then nipped at his shoulders. Quatre's eyes grew heavy-lidded as he felt Trowa's hands roam his body. Quatre then tugged on Trowa's dinner jacket, then undid his shirt. Both naked from the waist up, Trowa cupped Quatre's face and kissed him full on the mouth. Without releasing his mouth, Trowa steered him gently to the bed. Lying side by side, they continued kissing. Quatre reached out to unzip Trowa's pants when suddenly they heard a knock at the door.

  
  


Zechs waited outside the door. "Who is it?" Quatre asked. "It's Zechs. Sorry to disturb you, I just need to talk to Relena for a few minutes."

He could hear shuffling noises inside. "Wait a sec," Quatre called out. Well, it took more than a second. Zechs waited for a good 5 minutes before Relena opened the door. Zechs gave his sister a sly grin when he saw her disheveled hair, swollen lips, flushed face and glassy eyes, not to mention that she was only wearing a robe. 

"Sorry if I interrupted your celebration but I haven't given you our present yet," he told her, gesturing to the thing standing by the corridor near the door. Relena's eyes widened when she saw what the gift was --- a baby crib. "I had this made for my future nephew or niece. It's a replica of our own baby crib, the crib that the Peacecraft family used for generations." 

Relena blinked back the tears. "Thank you," she said as she hugged her brother tight.

"You're welcome. Now go back inside and continue whatever you two are doing so that my gift will be put to use as soon as possible," he replied as he hugged her back. When they pulled apart, he asked, "Do you need help in carrying it inside?"

"No, that's ok. Quatre can take care of it." She looked over her shoulder and said, "Quatre, dear, can you come here and help me carry Milliardo and Noin's gift for us?"

Quatre appeared beside her, also wearing a robe and his blonde hair in disarray. Seeing the crib, Quatre gulped then said, "Wow. Thanks, Zechs." 

Zechs just nodded and watched him pull the crib inside. Zechs frowned when he noticed something. "Relena, why are you wearing Heero's slippers?" 

"Huh?" Relena said as she looked at her feet. It was Heero's slippers alright. Two miniature faces of Wing Zero peaked out of her robe and the word 'Heero' was embroidered in blue on top of each of them. Though the embroidery was small, it was still visible and the fact that everybody knew that Wing Zero is, or rather was Heero's Gundam was a dead giveaway. She gave all five pilots these Gundam slippers as gifts after the Marimeia incident when they self-detonated their Gundams. It was sort of a remembrance so that they wouldn't miss their Gundams that much. She even had one made for Milliardo in the form of Epyon. Now, she regretted having these slippers made. _How can I explain this now?_

Fortunately, Quatre appeared behind her and said, "Oh, Heero and I swapped slippers. It's kinda like borrowing Wing Zero for a while. I guess in her hurry, Relena put it on instead of her own slippers." 

Zechs looked at him as if he was crazy. Couldn't blame him, though. Nobody in his right mind would swap slippers with another and think of it as swapping Gundams. But Zechs didn't say anything. He just nodded and kissed Relena in the forehead. "Goodnight," he said then walked back to his room. 

Relena and Quatre closed the door and sighed. "Another close call," Relena commented. "That was one lame excuse you came up with, Quatre. I can't believe Milliardo bought that."

Quatre snorted. "Excuse me for living, Vice Foreign Minister. At least I came up with an excuse and saved our butts. Unlike some other person I know."

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I promise that I'll be more careful next time."

"I think I heard that sentence far too much this day," Quatre chuckled. 

Relena laughed as she pressed the camouflaged button. She then entered Trowa's room. "He's all yours, Trowa. You can now continue with what you were doing before Milliardo interrupted you," Relena said, winking at them.

"So you can continue with you're little celebration too, hmm?" Quatre shot back. The three of them laughed. Both shelves were open so Relena just went in. Before closing the shelf, Trowa teased, "Don't get too loud, ok?"

"Same to you," Relena answered lightly before the two shelves slid back into place.

She eyed the big lump on the bed that was her husband. Her very naked husband (if you peep under the covers that is). She saw him rose from the bed and walked towards her.

"So, what was that all about?" he asked while untying her robe.

"Milliardo gave us a present, that's all," she answered as her eyes locked into his. She felt him slip the robe off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. "Where were we? I can't remember where we stopped," Relena said coyly.

"Let me refresh your memory," Heero replied as he pulled her close to him, letting her feel his whole, hard body before capturing her lips in a searing kiss.

Passion instantly flared between them. They continued plundering each other's mouths while their hands roamed over each other's bodies. Gently and without breaking the kiss, Heero pushed her to the wall. Relena could feel the wallpaper touching her naked back but she didn't take notice. All that mattered to her was him, his lips, his hands, his whole body that was giving her these sweet and pleasant sensations. 

Heero released her lips. His tongue caressed the sides of her face, her throat, then her shoulders, his left hand kneading her left breast, his other hand stroking her moist center. Relena moaned in pleasure as she felt his tongue make a warm trail towards her breast. He captured a hardened nipple, nibbling and suckling to his heart's content. Afterwhich, he turned his attention to the other breast. His lips then traveled down to her stomach and navel. He went to his knees as his lips continued to travel further down her body. Her knees wobbled as she felt his tongue tease and suckle her. 

Heero slowly rose to his feet as his tongue traveled upwards again. Pressing his body to hers, he captured her lips once more. He then put his hands on her waist and hoisted her up. Relena wrapped her legs around him, one hand on his back, the other guiding him inside her. She gasped as Heero entered her. With each powerful thrust, she could feel her back hitting the wall and the burning sensation in her abdomen mounting. They continued kissing as Heero kept on thrusting, their passions reaching a crescendo.

  
  


** A while later…**

Crouched on all fours, Relena took a sharp intake of breath as she felt Heero guided himself to her moist center from behind. He thrusted again and again, his hands firmly holding her waist. 

"Heero," Relena whispered as she felt the force of her climax rock her whole body. She couldn't count how many times she came this evening. When Heero said that they'll celebrate the whole night, they really did have one hell of a celebration. This was the fourth position they tried and she didn't know if she could take much more of this ecstasy. Or if she could keep herself from shouting out loud. She couldn't decide whether having the Perfect Soldier for a husband was a blessing or a curse. His stamina was just too much for her to handle. 

"Heero," she moaned again as she had another orgasm. Heero thrusted faster, his own release imminent. Relena's whole body trembled as multiple orgasms gripped her. Losing all self control, Relena screamed at the top of her lungs, "HEEEEEEERRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

  
  


**At the same time…**

"TRRRRROOOOOWWWWAAAAAAA!!!" Quatre screamed as he reached his peak.

  
  


In her room, Catherine covered her head with her pillow. Dorothy did the same, though she mumbled something first. "Don't they remember they have guests here?" 

  
  


Wufei collapsed beside his wife, panting. Sally giggled. "Are you disappointed that I didn't scream, Wufei?" 

"Of course not. Two screaming maniacs are enough to awaken the whole mansion. They don't need you to further amplify their voices," he answered. Wufei then grinned and shook his head. "Let's just see how they face the consequences of their actions tomorrow." 

  
  


Straddling Duo on a chair, Hilde stopped bouncing up and down on him when they heard Relena's scream followed by Quatre's. She then giggled. "Do you think they are always this loud?"she asked her husband.

Duo grinned languidly at her and pushed away a stray lock on her face. "Maybe. I had this urge to yell 'Get a room' but then I remembered that they already are in their rooms and this is their house." He kissed her lightly on the nose, his violet eyes twinkling mischievously. "Breakfast will surely be interesting. I can't wait."

Hilde smiled. "You betcha. Tomorrow's going to be fun," she replied before resuming what she was doing earlier.

  
  
  
Next on Mismatched… With one blunder after the other, Noin and Zechs are getting suspicious. Is the gig up for all of them? 


	3. I think they're getting suspicious

Mismatched   
  
**Disclaimer: **I am not Sunrise nor Sotsu Agency. They're the ones who own Gundam Wing.   
  
A little slice of lemon, just a intsy bit. Sorry if I misled you to think that there'll only be one person screaming. I wanted for all of you to have a glimpse of what will happen next without spoiling the whole surprise. For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Mismatched**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Chapter 3: I think they're getting suspicious **

  
  
  


They ate breakfast in silence. Quatre sat at the head of the table, Relena sitting by his right, Trowa by his left. At the other end of the table, opposite Quatre, sat Wufei. Heero sat to the right of Relena, next to him were Duo, Hilde then Dorothy. Catherine sat to the left of Trowa, next to her were Zechs, Noin and Sally. Relena and Quatre averted their gaze, knowing the fact that everyone in the table (not to mention the whole house) heard their screams last night. 

Noin then cleared her throat. "I have a question for Quatre and Relena." All eyes turned on her.

"Well, I have a question for Heero and Trowa too," Zechs added.

Quatre gulped hard. Relena looked at them nervously. _Oh, boy this is it, _ she thought. Heero and Trowa remained nonchalant. The others held their breaths as they waited.

"Who goes first?" Noin asked her husband.

"Go ahead, dear. Ladies first."

"Ok. Here's my question." Noin stopped for a dramatic effect. "What gifts did you give each other?"

The ten of them facevaulted. That was the question? Didn't they hear the screams? Was this some kind of a trick, torture or mind game?

Relena and Quatre looked at each other. They didn't know what to make of this but there would be no harm in answering her question. Relena smiled then showed them her hand.

"My husband gave me this." They all stared with awe at the ring on Relena's hand. It was beautiful. A big, black pearl sat on the middle, surrounded by little diamonds.

"Wow. That's one nice ring. It must have cost a fortune," Sally remarked, knowing too well that Heero must have saved for it the whole year. "I hope Wufei would give me something as nice as that one for our first year anniversary."

Wufei looked at her incredulously. "We just got married a month ago and you're already thinking of our anniversary?"

All of them laughed. "Girls are sentimental, Wufei," Hilde explained. "In my case, I still remember our first year wedding anniversary. I was one of the most memorable nights of my life."

Duo gave her a smile. "Well, babe, wait 'til you see what I'm planning for you on our 2nd year anniversary."

"That will be 2 months from now right?" Dorothy asked.

Hilde nodded and beamed at Duo. "What about you, Quatre. What did Relena give you?" Noin inquired.

Quatre showed them his arm. "Relena got me a Rolex watch that doubles as a cell phone and an electronic organizer."

"Cool," Duo remarked.

"Did you see our gift to Quatre and Relena?" Zechs asked them.

Catherine addressed him. "What is it?"

"A baby crib. Just think how beautiful Quatre and Relena's children will be. They'll all be blonde and blue-eyed angels." Everyone stared at Relena and Quatre while smothering their laughs. Even Heero and Trowa were amused. _ Yeah right. As if Quatre's genes will have a chance of mixing with Relena's, _ Duo thought. At the same time, Wufei is smirking in his mind, _ Don't be too sure about the blonde and blue-eyed thing, Zechs. I can't wait to see the look on your face when you see Relena's child looking more like Heero than Quatre. _ Zechs frowned when he saw the expression on their faces. "What? Did I say something funny?"

Instead of answering his question, Trowa said, "What do you want to ask us, Zechs?"

The frown on his face disappeared and was replaced by a sly grin. "Oh, I'm just wondering if you two had a good night." Relena and Quatre looked down, blushing, though Zechs and Noin didn't notice. "Care to tell us who were the lucky ladies responsible for waking us up in the middle of the night?" Zechs asked.

Ten pairs of eyes stared at the older couple in disbelief as they realized the implication of his words. Noin and Zechs might have heard the screams but they didn't recognize the voices! That meant the secret was still safe. But they weren't out of the woods yet. They need to come up with a good and plausible alibi for last night. Fast. But how in the hell were they going to do that? Aside from the fact that Heero and Trowa were not really your typical ladies' men (though they really were hot), the twelve of them had been together all night. The two silent and stoic pilots couldn't had picked up chicks last night without everybody knowing, could they?

"Umm, I was the one with Heero last night," Catherine told them.

All eyes turned at her. Catherine held Heero's gaze as he intently stared at her, fervently hoping that he understood what she was doing and that for the sake of Relena, Quatre and Trowa, he would just go along.

"I didn't know you were a couple," Noin commented.

"It was all very sudden," Catherine answered sheepishly. _ Like just a second ago. _

"But I never saw you enter Heero's room last night. I saw him go inside his room alone while you went to your own room alone," Noin remarked again.

Heero decided to jump in and help her out. "I went down for a midnight snack and saw Catherine in the kitchen. We talked for a while and I guess one thing led to another."

"And I was the one with Trowa," Dorothy chimed in.

"Did you see each other in the kitchen too?" Zechs asked.

"No. We didn't want anyone to know about us so we planned for her to sneak in my room when all of you were asleep. I guess we didn't think of the possibility of us getting caught. Or getting heard for that matter," Trowa informed them.

Everyone was silent. Zechs and Noin were speechless with shock at the 'confessions' while the rest just held their tongues so that they couldn't say anything that will jeopardize the hastily made alibi. Finally Noin spoke, "Wow. I didn't expect… Well, I want you to know that I'm happy for all of you."

"Me too. Who would have thought that we'd all end up being couples? Congratulations or whatever," Zechs added. He turned to Noin. "Is congratulations the right word to say to new couples?" 

Noin smiled and patted his hand. "Congratulations is fine." She then heard the grandfather clock. "Uh, Quatre, can we use the phone? We just want to check on the twins." 

"Sure, no problem. You don't need to ask for permission first, Noin. My house is your house. You can use the vidphone in the study." 

"Thanks," Noin replied as she and Zechs stood up. "Please excuse us." Zechs said as the two of them went out of the dining room.

Collective sighs of relief were heard as they saw the older pair disappear from view. "Another close one," Quatre remarked.

"Well, it's all your fault. You and Relena shouldn't have screamed that loud," Wufei reprimanded.

"Sorry," Relena and Quatre said in unison. 

"Hey, don't be too hard on Jousan and Q-man. Heero and Trowa were at fault too," Duo voiced out. 

"And why is that?" Heero asked. 

"If it weren't for you, they wouldn't have screamed," Duo pointed out. 

The ten friends laughed. "Kidding aside, we should all be careful. Noin and Zechs are not dumb, you know. They'll catch on sooner or later," Sally told them. 

"Sally is right. And things are getting really complicated. This is only the second day we've been together and we already made so many blunders. One more slip and they might get suspicious," Hilde amended. 

Relena smiled at them. "We're so lucky to have you guys as friends. Thank you for all the support. For everything." She turned to look at Catherine and Dorothy. "Especially to you two. Thanks for covering for us."

"Yeah. I want to thank you both too. You came up with a good cover-up that fast. And without talking to each other first," Quatre said.

"It was nothing. We're glad to help. As for thinking of it that fast, well, it's the only logical solution. Zechs and Noin are looking for 2 girls whom Heero and Trowa bedded last night right? And the only possible candidates for the position were Dorothy and me. It was a good thing that when I looked at Dorothy, I saw that she was thinking of the same thing so I pushed through with my plan," Catherine explained.

"And I just followed Cathy's lead. I'm pretty sure that she'll cover for Relena since she couldn't possibly had slept with her own brother. We're very lucky that we were paired up the same way last night, making the alibi more believable," Dorothy added. "Our only fear was that Heero and Trowa might not go along with the plan."

"It was fairly easy to see what you were up to, that's why we immediately went along with it," Trowa said.

Wufei smirked. "I cannot imagine how Zechs can master the Zero system but can't even recognize his own sister screaming. Injustice."

"Maybe the reason we were able to recognize the voices is that we know Relena is with Heero. And Relena is the only person who could have screamed Heero's name. The same goes for Quatre and Trowa," Hilde said.

"Hilde has a point. The screams might be audible but not discernable. And maybe, Zechs and Noin were too busy at that moment to even bother recognizing the voices," Heero told them.

"Whatever the reason is, you four are so damn lucky. If they recognized Relena or Quatre's voice, this little charade of yours is over," Duo remarked.

"Duo's right. And to be honest, we are still not ready to tell everyone the truth," Quatre informed them. "That's why we'll still be needing your help. Especially Dorothy and Catherine."

"You want us to continue being the girlfriends, is that it?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes. Please?"

"Ok," Dorothy answered. Catherine nodded her consent.

"Don't you think it'll be more complicated if you let Catherine and Dorothy into this?" Sally queried.

"I don't deny that it'll be more complicated but this is the only way that we could avoid suspicion. Zechs is worried about keeping Heero as Relena's bodyguard. He's afraid that the two of them might get tempted to do something."

"The same goes with Noin. She's concerned that Quatre and Trowa might resume their relationship in secret," Relena added.

"So making it appear that Heero and Trowa already have girlfriends will assure Zechs and Noin that the four of us rekindling old flames is out of the question. Besides, from now on they'll be thinking of Heero and Catherine, Trowa and Dorothy as couples. We should just continue with it," Quatre finished.

"What about the sleeping arrangements?" Catherine asked.

Relena, Heero, Quatre and Trowa looked at each other then smiled. "For that, I'll need your thumbprint, Catherine," Heero answered.

"Huh?"

  


***************************************

  


Two days had passed by since the 'confession' at the breakfast table and everything was doing great. They were all enjoying their vacation and each other's company. They did everything and went everywhere together. During these two days, Heero and Catherine, Trowa and Dorothy had officially become a couple, to the extent that the girls were now spending the night in their respective boyfriend's room. But they still kept their things in their own rooms where they return to early in the morning.

This day, the fourth day of their vacation, went well. They spent the entire morning at the mall, then they went horseback riding in the afternoon. After dinner, the twelve friends walked to the entertainment room and decided to watch a movie from Quatre's vast collection of films. And to the guys' chagrin, the girls chose a horrible tearjerker.

  


***************************************

  


Quatre turned on the lights as the closing credits were shown. He then turned off the big screen. He smiled as he saw the girls sniffling.

"That was so sad," Hilde remarked, wiping her eyes.

"Let's go, babe. Time for bed," Duo said as he helped her up the couch. Everybody stood up and proceeded to go upstairs. A chorus of goodnights was heard as each couple went to their respective room.

Zechs opened the door for Noin. She entered and immediately headed to the dresser, removing her accessories. She smiled as she felt her husband's arms around her waist.

"Tired?" he asked.

"A little. But I can still do one more activity," Noin replied with a smile.

"That's nice to hear," Zechs said as he whirled her around and pressed his lips to hers. He slowly savored her mouth, nibbling on her sweet lips first before caressing her with his tongue. Noin moaned as the kiss deepened. Zechs steered her to the bed, pressing his body onto hers as they lie down. Zechs reached out to unbutton her shirt but felt her hands stop him.

"Hold that thought. First, I have a surprise for you," Noin said to him.

Zechs looked at her with heavy-lidded eyes. "Really?"

"Yup. Do you think that I made you carry all those bags and boxes at the mall for nothing? I bought something that you might like," she said in a teasing voice.

"And may I ask what is this surprise that I might like?"

"Oh, something sexy. And edible."

Zechs grinned. "What are you waiting for, hon? I'm hungry. Put it on," he said huskily.

Noin chuckled as she rose from the bed and went to the corner where she placed all that she bought form the mall earlier.

"Hmmm, where is it?" she muttered while rummaging through the various bags and boxes in the floor. "There," she said, picking up a red, edible lingerie. Then something caught her eye. "Oh no! I forgot to give Relena, Catherine and Dorothy theirs,"she exclaimed. She glanced at the mirror and checked her face then smoothed her clothes. Before Zechs could do anything, Noin rushed out of their room, carrying 3 edible lingerie.

She knocked on Heero's door first. "Who is it?" Heero asked gruffly.

"It's Noin. I know it's late but can I talk to Catherine for a minute?"

No answer. She then heard something slide inside. After a few minutes, Catherine opened the door. Noin saw that she was in her sleeping clothes.

"Sorry. I just forgot to give you this. Hope I'm not too late," Noin told Catherine as she handed her a navy blue lingerie.

"Oh, no, you're just in time," Catherine lied. "Thanks." 

"Goodnight, Cathy. Goodnight, Heero," Noin called out. She heard a grunt from inside.

"Goodnight, Noin," Catherine answered as she closed the door.

Noin knocked on the next door. "Who is it?" Dorothy inquired.

"Dorothy, it's Noin. I have something to give you."

"Just a sec." Noin heard another sliding noise inside. "Hi. What is it?" Dorothy asked when she opened the door. Like Catherine, she was in her sleeping clothes.

"This," Noin answered, handing her a black lingerie. "We don't want Trowa to starve tonight, do we?"

"Thanks. Trowa will definitely appreciate it," Dorothy said with a smile. _ He'll like it alright, if Quatre's wearing them. _

"Goodnight, Dorothy. Goodnight, Trowa." No response. Oh well, it **is** Trowa.

"Goodnight," Dorothy replied as the door to their room closed.

Noin then knocked on the Master's bedroom.

"Who is it?" Quatre called out.

"It's me, Noin. I just need to give Relena something."

She could hear shuffling noises inside. A few minutes passed before Relena opened the door, clad only in her bathrobe. Noin handed her the last one --- a white lingerie. "Here. I thought you might need this."

Relena smiled. "You know, I forgot that I bought this. It's a good thing you remembered and gave it to me. Thanks."

"It's my pleasure. The six of us are going to feed our men tonight."

Relena giggled. "So I guess Wufei and Duo are enjoying theirs right now, huh?"

"Yup. So you better hurry and go back inside. A hungry boy is waiting for you."

"Same to you. Goodnight, Noin."

"Goodnight, Relena. Goodnight, Quatre,"

"Goodnight," Quatre replied from inside the room. Relena smiled at her one last time before closing the door. 

Noin then walked back to their room, eager to resume what she and Zechs were doing earlier. 

  
  


Quatre looked at the thing Relena was holding then grimaced. "Noin disturbed us just to give you a lingerie? You have plenty of those!"

Relena waved a finger at him. "Not just any ordinary lingerie. **Edible** lingerie."

Quatre's eyes widened in realization. "Ooohhh."

Relena chuckled at his expression as she pressed the camouflaged button. Both of them slipped in Trowa's room. They saw Trowa and Heero eyeing Catherine and Dorothy's lingerie.

"So Noin gave you yours too huh," Dorothy said to Relena.

Relena smiled and wrapped an arm around Heero's waist. "I guess Heero is going to get a treat tonight," Trowa commented.

Heero's lips curled into a smile. "You can borrow theirs if you want to have a bite, Trowa."

"Yeah. We don't mind," Catherine offered.

Trowa and Quatre looked at each other. "Thanks but no thanks. You two keep them. You might meet a man with a large appetite someday," Quatre said teasingly.

Catherine and Dorothy laughed. "How we wish that happens soon," Dorothy said. Then she frowned. "I didn't know that sneaking around is hard work."

"You said it. I'm scared that I might slip or do something wrong. And the going in and out of rooms is tiring," Catherine amended.

"Don't worry. Three more days and this will be over for you," Relena told them. "Unless you're willing to continue with this charade longer."

The two single women looked at each other. "Let's just wait and see what will happen," Dorothy said noncommittally.

"It's late. Let's all get back to bed," Trowa suggested.

"What you mean is that you want to go back to what you were doing earlier," Catherine told him.

"What gave you that idea, Cathy?" Quatre asked, pretending to be indignant.

Catherine and Dorothy grinned at them. "We don't trust people clad only in their bathrobes," Dorothy replied.

All of them laughed. Heero, Relena, Quatre and Trowa are all wearing robes.

"Trowa is right. Its time for bed. And for me to eat," Heero remarked. Relena slapped him playfully on the shoulders. 

"Just keep it low, ok. It's already embarrassing to be dubbed as the screaming sirens. We don't want to further tarnish our reputation," Dorothy told them.

"And we need to sleep. Remember, this room is not empty anymore," Catherine added.

The two couples grinned sheepishly. "Ok, promise," they said in unison.

"Goodnight," Relena called out as they went in their room, closing the shelf on their side. Trowa and Quatre, on the other hand, slipped back inside the Master's bedroom and closed the connecting door. Catherine went to the shelf and put her thumb on the thumbprint checker. The shelf slid shut.

"I really wish they programmed my thumbprint in the checker too," Dorothy said.

"What for? This is where you're supposed to be. And you don't have to go anywhere but here. In my case, I'm supposed to be in Heero's room. That's why I need an access to go in and out of here and Heero's room during emergencies. Like what happened earlier with Noin."

"I know. It just looks cool," Dorothy answered sheepishly.

Catherine smiled. She laid down on her side of the bed. "Goodnight, Dorothy."

"Goodnight," Dorothy answered as she too laid down and turned off the lampshade.

  
  
** A while later ... **  
  


Relena bit her tongue as another orgasm rocked her. She didn't know if she should thank or kill Duo for his anniversary gift for them. It was the complete guide to Kama Sutra. This Kama Sutra thing was really… scream-worthy. Heero kept thrusting and with each thrust, she was losing her self-control. As Heero thrusted faster, she could feel herself reach climax again and again and again. She just couldn't take it anymore. 

"HHEEEEEEE---mmmmpphhh." Her scream was muffled when Heero covered her mouth with his. Heero felt that she was on the verge of screaming so he did the only thing that he could do to prevent that from happening --- that is, to kiss the living daylights out of her. Their entangled bodies trembled as both of them reached their peak. After a while, Heero released her lips and stared right into her eyes, then smiled. Relena smiled back.

"Thanks. You're foresight always serve us well."

"Hn. Maybe next time, I'll gag you first," Heero answered. "You should buy another edible lingerie. It really tasted good and I can use it to gag you from screaming bloody murder."

Relena giggled. "This is nice. We enjoyed ourselves without breaking our promise to Catherine and Dorothy about screaming."

Unfortunately, Trowa didn't have Heero's foresight when they heard, "TRRROOOOOWWWWWAAAAAAAAA!!!"

  
  


Dorothy's eyes opened as she heard the scream. "Aaagghh! They promised! Everyone will think that I'm the one who screamed. I'm going to kill them!"

Catherine put a pillow over her head and went back to sleep.

  
  
**The next morning…**  
  


Noin woke up earlier than usual. She had this sudden urge for a strong, black coffee so she decided to go to the kitchen. She barely opened their bedroom door when she saw Dorothy went out of Trowa's room. There was nothing peculiar about it, they all knew that Dorothy slept with Trowa now. What was odd was that she was carrying her lingerie back to her room. Noin frowned. _I'm pretty sure that I heard Dorothy scream last night, didn't they use it?_ But if that was odd, what she saw next was downright bizarre. She saw Catherine cautiously went out of Trowa's room and return to her own room, carrying her lingerie. _What is Catherine doing in Trowa's room?_ Noin could clearly remember seeing and talking to Catherine in Heero's room last night. _How in the world did she get in Trowa's room? What's going on?_ Her female intuition was telling her something was wrong about this whole situation from the minute they arrived. _I'll get to the bottom of this, _ she vowed to herself. With a slight shrug, she went out of their room and proceeded downstairs. 

  


***************************************

  


While the girls spent the morning relaxing in the steam room, the guys opted to go to the simulation room and try out the combat program Heero made. They put on these helmets and all of a sudden they found themselves in a virtual reality world, more specifically, they found themselves inside a Mobile Suit cockpit. They could choose whatever MS they want--- Wing Zero, Deathscythe Hell, Heavyarms Kai, Sandrock Kai, Altron, Epyon, Tallgeese, Mercurius, Vayeate, Serpent, Taurus or Space Leo. Of course, each of them chose their own Gundams. 

The combat program was then activated. It was an all out war--- one's self against the others. None of them were allies, they were all enemies. But they couldn't just fight and blast each other, they needed a strategy. So they paired up, fighting one opponent at a time. As expected, Heero and Zechs squared off. Duo battled Quatre while Trowa fought Wufei.

The six of them had been sparring for 10 minutes now. "Feel the wrath of Shinigami, Quatre," Duo said, attacking Sandrock with his twin beam scythe. Sandrock fended it off with its heat shotels.

"Can you fight without opening your mouth, Maxwell? It's an injustice to continuously hear your incessant blabbering," Wufei remarked, lounging two dragon fangs at Heavyarms. Trowa dodged and fired his gatling gun.

"Speak for yourself, Wufei. I just had enough of your justice rants too," Duo shot back.

"Kisama!" Wufei yelled as he broke off his fight with Heavyarms and attacked Deathscythe.

Now without opponents, Quatre and Trowa just stood there and watched Altron and Deathscythe fight fiercely. "I guess we should start fighting, Quatre."

"Maybe later. I'm thirsty. I'll go to the bar and get a drink first," Quatre told Trowa.

"I'll go with you," Trowa said. Both of them removed their helmets then went out of the simulation room.

  
  


Wing Zero and Epyon lounged at each other, beam sabers drawn. When they passed each other, Epyon's left arm fell off. Zechs smiled. "Déjà vu."

"Hn. Our last fight in Libra," Heero agreed. "You're out of practice, Zechs."

"Well, I should be. It's been four years since I fought in a war. You should be out of practice too."

"That's why I created this program. Trowa and I spend a lot of time here. Sort of practicing."

"So that's the reason you're not getting as rusty as I am," Zechs told him. They saw Duo and Wufei still battling. "I think I need a drink."

"Hn," Heero acknowledged and without warning he fired at Deathscythe and Altron. Zechs watched the 3 Gundams fight each other before removing his helmet.

Zechs was just entering the bar when he suddenly froze on his tracks then fled. He couldn't believe what he saw. Trowa and Quatre were kissing! He had suspicions on Heero and Relena but not on Quatre and Trowa! Noin was right in her fears afterall. But he knew that he couldn't bring himself to tell her just yet. _ My God, he's cheating on Relena!_ And here he thought how lucky his sister was for marrying Quatre. Then he remembered Dorothy. They were both cheating on their girls! _ Are they cheating on Relena and Dorothy all this time? Or is this just a spur of the moment kind of thing? _ Either way, he decided to keep an eye on those two. And after gathering sufficient evidence, he's going to confront those bastards and let them pay for making a fool out of his baby sister. 

  
  


For lunch, the gang decided to eat in the garden, sort of a picnic. "How was the simulation?" Dorothy asked the guys.

"Great! You girls should try it sometime," Quatre replied.

"Maybe we will," Sally told him.

"Who won?" Catherine inquired.

"Who else? Heero," Trowa answered.

"Yeah, he totally creamed us," Duo said while eating his dessert.

"After defeating Zechs, he barged in my fight with Maxwell. Then Trowa and Quatre returned. We ganged up on him but he still defeated us all," Wufei grumbled.

"Don't be a sore loser, Wufei. You can defeat me next time," Heero said.

"So, what are our plans for tomorrow?" Hilde asked.

"I think I'm going to pass. I have my monthly doctor's check-up tomorrow. Then I'll probably rest the whole day since I'm feeling kinda tired lately. You can do anything you want without me," Relena told them.

"I think we should all rest tomorrow. We've been busy doing all kinds of stuff these past five days," Noin suggested.

"Great idea! We could rest all day tomorrow then party full blast on the last day we're all together," Catherine said.

"You're a Muslim, Quatre, right?" Zechs suddenly asked.

"Yes."

"If you're a Muslim, why did you get married in a Christian church?"

Relena and Quatre looked at each other. "Hey, I assure you that their marriage was binding. I married them myself," Duo jumped in, hoping to help his friends out.

"I think what Zechs meant is that maybe you could renew your vows in a Muslim ceremony so we could attend. As you well know, we were not present in your wedding," Noin explained.

"Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe next year we'll renew our vows as part of our 2nd wedding anniversary," Quatre told them.

A tensed silence followed. There was something about Zechs' attitude that made everyone uneasy. "This blueberry cheesecake is really delicious, Relena," Dorothy commented, breaking the tension.

"Yeah. I would like to eat some more but Duo ate every last slice," Sally said.

"Can't help it. I'm hungry. And it tastes heavenly," Duo replied, swallowing the last piece of his cake.

"Don't worry. I baked five more. I know how large Duo's appetite is. I'll go get them," Relena said as she stood up.

"I'll lend you a hand," Heero offered. Both of them then went inside the house.

  
  


When they entered the kitchen, Heero grabbed Relena's wrists, pulled her close then kissed her passionately. Relena freed her hands and reached up to clasp them around his neck. They continued kissing. Then all of a sudden, Heero pulled away and turned around to look at the kitchen door.

"What is it?" Relena asked languidly.

Heero stared at the door for a few seconds then turned his attention back to her. "Nothing," he answered. He gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead then said, "We better get the cakes. We have nine hungry people and Duo to feed."

Relena laughed. The two of them went to the refrigerator and took out the cakes.

  
  


Noin hastily closed the bathroom door, her heart beating faster than usual. She came inside the house to go the bathroom when she passed by the kitchen. And there she got the shock of her life. She saw Heero and Relena kissing! Zechs' fears were not that groundless afterall. Poor Quatre. Relena was cheating on him. And under his very nose too. Then she remembered Catherine. Heero was cheating on her too. But she was not sure how long this has been going on. Maybe today was just a slip-up, the first and last slip-up. Or maybe… She shook her head. She must not jump into conclusions. She had to gather enough evidence first before confronting Heero and Relena or even telling it to Zechs, Quatre and Catherine. Looking at the mirror, she promised to keep an eye on those two.

  
  
  
Next on Mismatched... The whole gang received some surprising news. Will this cause them to finally tell the truth? 


	4. To tell or not to tell, that is not real...

Mismatched   
  
**Disclaimer: **Gundam Wing is not mine. Nor will it ever be. That is downright impossible and preposterous.   
  
Sorry, no more lemons. About Duo and his priesthood, I shouldn't have used the word 'priest' but instead 'minister'. I know that it created some kind of confusion coz Catholic priests can't marry. The word priest is kinda shorter, so I used it.   
  
This is basically Noin and Zechs' chapter --- how they view the whole situation, their analysis of the couples, the parallelism between their points of view. Married couples tend to think and act alike, don't they? For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Mismatched**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Chapter 4: To tell or not to tell, that is not really the question **

  
  
  
** 6th day of their vacation (4 pm) **  
  


Noin sat in the gazebo, immersed in her thoughts. Even from their first day here, she could sense something strange about this whole set-up but she didn't say anything about it to anyone. As far as she knew, she was the only one who was feeling this way. But since yesterday, she was certain that her soldier's instinct and her female intuition had been right all along. _ There's definitely something weird going on around here, _ she told herself. Aside from catching Heero and Relena kissing in the kitchen yesterday, she also uncovered some bizarre occurrences.

  


*****************************************************FLASHBACK********************************************************

  
  
** In the steam room… **  
  


"Oh, this is great," Catherine said.

"You said it, girlfriend," Hilde told her.

"This is what a real vacation should be like," Sally commented. "Relaxing by day, playing kinky by night…"

The girls laughed. "Speaking of kinky, did your men enjoy their special treats last night?" Noin queried, referring to the lingerie.

Hilde and Sally grinned mischievously while Relena blushed. "I practically had Duo eating by the palm of my hand. Or, let's just say some other body part."

"And I actually had Justice Boy begging for more."

"INJUSTICE!" the six girls chorused. They then turned to Relena. "He definitely liked it. He said that it tasted so good."

"What about you, Dorothy? Catherine?" Noin asked.

"Oh, Heero enjoyed it a lot. In fact, he asked me to buy more," Catherine replied.

"Trowa too. He's really grateful that you gave it to me last night."

  
  


******************************************************END FLASHBACK*******************************************************

  
  


Noin frowned. _ But it was a lie, _ she told herself. _ Dorothy and Catherine were lying. I saw them yesterday morning sneak out of Trowa's room carrying their lingerie. They didn't use them. But why lie? More importantly, why lie to me? _ She then remembered her talk with the boys.

  
  


*****************************************************FLASHBACK********************************************************

  
  


Noin saw Heero, Duo, Trowa. Quatre and Wufei emerge from the simulation room. "Hi. Where's Zechs?"

"He's not with you?" Quatre asked.

"No. I thought he's with you trying out the combat program."

"He was. When I defeated him, he went out for a drink. He didn't come back," Heero informed her.

"So how was last night? Nice and sweet huh," Noin said with a grin.

Duo smiled slyly while Heero and Wufei smirked. Trowa and Quatre grimaced. Noin looked at the two. "Hey, why so grim? Didn't you enjoy Relena and Dorothy's treat for you?" Noin asked.

"I did. It tasted good and blue suits her well," Quatre replied.

Heero shot him a look. Noin frowned. "Blue? Relena's lingerie is white."

"Huh? Oh yeah. Sorry. I guess I wasn't paying attention," Quatre said sheepishly.

"We know what you mean. I also can't remember what color Dorothy's lingerie was but I definitely enjoyed it," Trowa said, covering up for Quatre. 

  
  


******************************************************END FLASHBACK*******************************************************

  
  


_ Why would the guys lie too? What's going on? _ Then there was that mystery on how Catherine got inside Trowa's room. Noin caught her sneaking out again this morning. _ Do they have connecting doors or something? _ she wondered. _ Nah, that couldn't be it. It must be a sibling thing. _ That sure was strange but there were more important matters to think of. Like Heero and Relena's relationship for instance.

Since the kiss yesterday, Noin had been watching them carefully. She couldn't believe that she missed all the signs before. And from all the little details that she had gathered, she could safely conclude that Heero and Relena really did have a relationship. Relena might had always stayed beside Quatre and Heero beside Catherine but they kept exchanging these longing looks. Aside from that, Heero was always ready to give her a hand in everything, he also went with her everywhere. Like this morning when Relena went to doctor. Well, Heero was her bodyguard afterall. But there were just some things that only the husband should do, right? 

Noin sighed. Quatre can be so trusting at times. He didn't know that his own friend was having an affair with his wife. But come to think of it, it sure looks like that Quatre and Relena were not in love. There was no doubt that they cared for each other, being bestfriends and all but they were just not in love. The same could be said for Heero and Catherine though this was not due to their lack in public displays of affection. Heero had always kept to himself and even with his relationship with Relena, he didn't show his feelings in public. But anybody within a feet of him could never deny what he truly felt. Maybe it was the expression in his eyes whenever he looks at her. Noin couldn't see that look in his eyes when he was with Catherine. But she could see it when he was with Relena. 

To be fair, it was evident that Heero had some affection for Catherine (which was saying a lot since Heero was not an affectionate guy) but in a sisterly kind of way. Sort of like what Trowa felt for Catherine, or what Heero felt for his female friends. As for Catherine, they all knew that she had a soft spot for Heero, him being so much like Trowa. Also, she was the one who took care of him when he self-detonated. Though she threatened and blamed Heero for Trowa's failed self-detonation, they had become close these past years. They liked each other but they were definitely not in love. Noin can understand why Relena married Quatre even if she was not in love with him but why would Heero and Catherine be together if they were not in love?

Her reverie was interrupted when she heard a familiar voice. "Hey, Noin, what are you doing out here all alone?" Hilde greeted as she and Duo entered the gazebo.

"Yeah. Where's Zechs?" Duo asked.

"He's around here somewhere. We both wanted to be alone with our thoughts for a while."

"Why? Did you two have a fight?" Hilde inquired.

Noin shook her head. "No. It's not about us." Suddenly she asked, "Do you think Heero and Relena are still in love with each other?"

"It's not a big deal. They're married," Duo immediately answered. Noin furrowed her brows while Hilde discretely pinched him. "What I mean is, it wouldn't matter if they still have feelings for each other. Relena is married and Heero might marry Catherine," Duo amended. _ Nice pun. Hope she buys it. _He sighed in relief as he saw that Noin bought his explanation. 

"But did it occur to you that they might act on those feelings even if Relena is married or Heero plans on marrying Catherine?" Noin asked again.

Duo and Hilde were definitely nervous now. "You mean sneaking around, cheating on each other, that sort of thing?" Hilde queried. Noin nodded. Hilde crossed her fingers then continued, "What made you ask that? Did you see them do something?" 

"Not really," Noin lied. "I'm just curious, that's all."

Duo and Hilde were relieved. "Well, Heero is my best friend and I don't think that he's the kind of man who'll cheat on his girlfriend and covet his friend's wife," Duo replied in a very priestlike way.

Noin looked at them intently. What Duo said rang true, but something was amiss, she just couldn't put her finger into it. Either they didn't know anything or they were covering for Heero and Relena. "Where are the others?"

Hilde replied, "Relena, Catherine and Dorothy are in their rooms, resting while Heero, Trowa and Quatre are in the simulation room upgrading the combat program. They're adding more helmets since Sally and I decided to try it out. Want to come with us?"

"Hmm, that sounds interesting. Ok, I'll try it too."

"Great! Let's go back inside. They'll be done by now," Duo said to them.

"Wait. I have to find Zechs and tell him so he could join us."

"Don't worry. Sally is looking for you too. She and Wufei might have found Zechs by now and told him about us joining them in the simulation," Hilde told her.

Noin smiled. "In that case, let's kick some major Mobile Suit ass," she said with flourish.

  
  
**At the same time…**  
  


Zechs stared out of the window. He couldn't erase the image of Trowa and Quatre kissing in his mind. It wouldn't had been an issue if Quatre was not married to Relena, but he was. Since that scene in the bar yesterday, he watched them carefully, noting every look, every touch. And from what he had seen so far, he was certain that Trowa and Quatre's secret affair had been going on for a long time. He felt really stupid for not recognizing the signs earlier. Though Quatre always stayed beside Relena and Trowa beside Dorothy, they had this intimate look in their eyes whenever their gazes meet. Aside from that, whenever Quatre goes somewhere, Trowa comes with him. Zechs couldn't deny seeing the love shining in their eyes. And he knew how lucky those two were for finding something as rare and as beautiful as that love, but what about Relena? And Dorothy?

To be honest, Zechs knew from the very beginning that Relena only married Quatre out of desperation. She had to marry a Colony delegate whether she liked to or not so it was just a brilliant tactical move on Relena's part to choose her guy best friend and also the current Head of the Colony delegates for her husband. Though he knew that Relena and Quatre love each other, they were not **in** love. And he was fairly certain that Trowa and Dorothy were not in love either.

Trowa had always been stoic, even more so than Heero, that was why it was not so surprising that he disliked public displays of affection. But Zechs knew him well enough by now to know his true feelings. He was fond of Dorothy, this fact was obvious, but he was fond of her in a way that he was fond of the rest of the girls. And it was the same with Dorothy. Her affection for Trowa was just like her affection for the rest of them. So why did they bother to be together if that was the case? For convenience? For sex? What?

But that was not the only mystery here. There was something about this whole set-up that perplex him, his soldier's instinct telling him something was amiss. This strange feeling started the day they arrived but he kept his mouth shut. He thought that he might just be imagining things. But with what he had discovered lately made him realize that his instinct might be right all along.

  
  


*****************************************************FLASHBACK********************************************************

  
  
**Yesterday afternoon**  
  


It was the guys' turn to use the steam room. "Nice. This is one good spa you have, Quatre," Wufei commented. 

"Thanks. As a matter of fact, this is my favorite room in the whole mansion."

"I'm really enjoying this. I think I'll have one installed in the Palace," Zechs told them.

"We always had assumed that you already had one," Trowa remarked.

"Good idea, Zechs. That way whenever we go to the Sanc Kingdom for a vacation we could use it," Duo said to him. "Hey Heero, after we're done here can we exchange slippers? I really like to wear Wing Zero for a while."

"No."

"Pretty please? My Deathscythe is really clean. And I don't have any foot fungus."

"No."

Duo looked at him with puppy-dog eyes. "Please? Heero ol' buddy, ol' pal? It'll be just like swapping Gundams. You let Wufei and Trowa borrow Wing Zero during the war. And Trowa lend you Heavyarms once."

Heero looked at him as if he was crazy. "You're crazy. You know that I don't like other people touching my stuff. Especially my Mobile Suit. I let them borrow Wing Zero out of necessity."

Zechs frowned. "I thought you and Quatre swapped slippers? Kinda liked swapping Gundams."

"Huh?"

Quatre gulped. "Umm, Heero don't you remember? We swapped slippers a few days ago. That's why Relena ** accidentally ** put on your slippers when she went out to meet Zechs."

"So you swapped with Quatre but not with me. And here I thought you're my best friend," Duo pouted.

Heero glared at Quatre. Then at Duo. "Fine. Let's swap slippers. But only for this day." 

"Yipee!" Duo exclaimed, knowing the fact that he just conned Heero into doing something he doesn't like.

"You better be telling the truth about not having foot fungus, Duo. Or I swear, best friend or not, I'm going to kill you."

  
  


******************************************************END FLASHBACK*******************************************************

  
  


_ Heero couldn't had forgotten about something as mundane as swapping slippers, could he? And I know that he really didn't want other people touching his things, _ Zechs thought. But if this was the case, why would Heero let Quatre and Duo bully him into saying that he did? Then there was this other thing that struck him as odd.

  
  


******************************************************FLASHBACK*******************************************************

  
  
** Last night (At the living room) **  
  


Relena put down her wine glass. "I think I'll head to bed now," she said, glancing at Dorothy and Catherine.

Dorothy faked a yawn. "Me, too. I'm beat."

"I guess I'll head upstairs too. I'm pretty tired myself," Catherine added.

"Ok. We'll stay here a little bit longer. Goodnight," Sally told them.

"Hope you have a **pleasant** evening," Hilde said with a grin.

"Goodnight," Relena, Catherine and Dorothy said in unison as the three of them, Quatre, Heero and Trowa stood up and walked toward the staircase.

Zechs watched the 3 couples went up the stairs and disappeared from view. "I just noticed something. This is the second time I saw those six go to bed at the same time. Do they have this agreement of sleeping at the same time? Or do they have this competition on who among them could make the loudest noise?" 

Sally swallowed her entire drink while Hilde fidgeted in her seat. Duo and Wufei looked at each other. 

"Don't get too worked up in something as insignificant as that, Zechs. It's just a coincidence," Wufei told him.

  
  


******************************************************END FLASHBACK*******************************************************

  
  


_ Wufei had a point. But why can't I help feeling that the six of them going to bed at the same time is not a mere coincidence? What's really happening behind their closed doors? _ he asked himself. 

"There you are, Zechs. Where's Noin?" Sally asked as she entered the study, Wufei trailing behind her.

"I don't know. She might be outside."

Sally studied him. "Do you two have a problem?"

"No," Zechs answered quickly. "We really don't. I'm just thinking, that's all."

"About what?" Wufei inquired.

Zechs replied, "Trowa and Quatre are still in love, right?"

"Pardon?" Wufei choked out.

"I said, Trowa and Quatre are still in love. I just want you to confirm it."

Sally rocked her brain for the right answer. "Umm, maybe. Why do you ask?"

Instead of answering her, Zechs asked, "Do you think Trowa and Quatre will continue their relationship even if Quatre is already married and Trowa has a girlfriend?"

Sally and Wufei tensed. "What makes you say that, Zechs? Did you see them do something? Or did you find some evidence that will lead you to think that?" Sally queried.

"No. I didn't find anything," he lied. "I just want to know if there's even a remote chance of that happening."

Wufei decided to answer his question. "I've known Trowa and Quatre for a long time now and I can say that they wouldn't do something as dishonorable as cheating on one's wife and girlfriend. Even if they still have feelings for each other."

Zechs nodded. He was certain that Wufei believed for himself that he was telling the truth. It was not really in Quatre and Trowa's nature to cheat. Still, he couldn't shrug off the feeling that there was something wrong about everything.

"I almost forgot. We've been looking for you and Noin to ask you if you want to join us in the simulation room," Sally told him.

"Heero and the others are installing additional helmets so Sally, Hilde and Noin can battle with us. You coming?" Wufei asked.

"Yup. It'll be good to do some practicing. And I'm done resting for the day," Zechs answered. "But I have to find Noin first." 

"I think Duo and Hilde already found her. They went out to look for the two of you outside," Sally said.

"Well, what are we waiting for? I'm itching for a good fight. And I can't wait to see how these onnas can stand up to us."

"Just wait and see, Wufei. We're going to give you a run for your money," Sally said smugly. Wufei smirked at her. 

Zechs laughed. "As for me, I'm going to defeat Heero this time."

  
** An hour later… **  
  


Noin went out of the simulation room. She felt tired. Battling 6 Gundams and 2 Tauruses even in a simulation was tough work. Heero really made one hell of a combat program. It was like battling for real. So after Wufei blasted her Taurus into oblivion, she decided to quit and rest for one or two hours before dinner.

She was headed towards the stairs when she heard the vidphone in the study rang. She went inside to answer it.

"Hello. This is Dr. Brooks. Can I speak with Mrs. Winner please?"

"She's resting right now. Do you want to leave a message?"

  


***************************************

  


Everyone was chatting happily during dinner. When dessert was served, Noin looked at Zechs, who in turn nodded at her. Noin cleared her throat then said, "Hey Relena, Dr. Brooks called this afternoon."

"What did he say?"

"You're pregnant," Noin replied with a smile.

All conversation in the table came to a halt. Quatre sputtered his drink, Heero's eyes widened though he kept a straight face while Trowa' expression remained neutral. In her excitement, Relena turned to Heero (who was sitting beside her) and smiled brightly at him. Trowa coughed twice when he saw that Relena was inclined to do something more than smile at her **real** husband. Fortunately, Relena caught herself before she could hug Heero and instead focused her attention at Quatre and held his hand.

"Wow. Congratulations! I can't believe that Heero will finally be a---" Hilde then realized her mistake when she saw 9 glares aimed at her. Salvaging the situation she continued, "---godfather. And I'm going to be a godmother." _ Phew, close one,_ she sighed inwardly.

"We're all going to be godparents, right Relena?" Catherine said.

"Right."

"And I'm going to be an uncle," Zechs told them proudly.

"I'm sure that Zoe and Laird will be happy to know that they'll finally have a cousin," Noin told them. She turned to look at Quatre and smiled. Quatre looked dazed but at least he was conscious. "I can see that you're handling the news very well, Quatre. I can still remember when I told Zechs I was pregnant. He jumped up and down then fainted." Everybody laughed at this. "So, how are you feeling?"

Quatre blinked a few times. "Wow. I'm so surprised." He locked gazes with Relena, her eyes silently asking him a question. "I'm happy. I really am. You're going to be a wonderful mother, Relena. I'm sure of it."

Relena smiled and squeezed his hand. She was worried that Quatre might be mad but she could clearly see that he was happy for them. Though this will cause the end of their little charade.

"Let's go shopping for maternity dresses tomorrow," Dorothy said.

"And baby clothes too," Sally added.

"Are you kidding onna? We don't even know if Relena's child is a boy or a girl!" Wufei exclaimed.

"We can let her go for an ultrasound," Duo suggested.

"No ultrasound. We'll wait 'til the baby is born," Heero suddenly said. All eyes turned to him. _ Heero no baka, _ he told himself. "I know that Quatre and Relena wouldn't want to spoil the surprise," he quickly amended. 

Trowa raised his glass for a toast. "For the new parents." Everybody raised their glasses. "From this night onward, nothing will ever be the same again."

  


***************************************

  


After dinner, the twelve of them decided to call it a night. "Goodnight," Relena called out to them. She glanced at Hilde and Sally, who nodded at her with silent understanding. Afterwhich, they all entered their rooms.

After two minutes, Hilde and Duo, Wufei and Sally sneaked out of their rooms and tiptoed to Trowa's room. Duo knocked his name in Morse code (softly of course). Trowa opened the door and the 4 of them entered. 

"So this is the famous sliding bookshelves huh," Duo said as he tinkered with the thumbprint checker. They could all see Heero's room through the opened bookshelf and the Master's bedroom through the open connecting door. "Smart and trendy, if I do say so myself. Only Heero can make sneaking around this high-tech." He then grinned at Catherine and Dorothy. "Care to tell us what you two had been doing for the past four nights, hmm?" 

Catherine's eyes turned to mere slits. "Are you implying something, Duo?"

"Just curious. Don't be so defensive, Cathy."

"We didn't do anything but sleep, Duo. We're not like you," Dorothy told him.

"You still have that crazy idea about me and Heero huh, Dorothy. I repeat for the millionth time that we didn't have any relationship! We're just good buddies."

"Just like me and Dorothy. Satisfied?" Catherine said.

"If you say so."

Sally saw that Dorothy plans on answering back so she asked, "What are you guys planning to do now?" 

Quatre, Trowa, Heero and Relena looked at each other. Quatre took a deep breath before speaking. "I think it's time for us to tell everyone the truth."

Hilde looked at them intently. "Are you sure?" 

"Yes. We all knew that this day would come. We can't keep pretending forever," Relena told them.

"When are you planning to make your announcement?" Catherine inquired.

"Tomorrow," Quatre answered.

Everyone was stunned. Even Heero and Relena. They knew that Quatre will like them to come clean as soon as possible but they didn't expect it to be that quick!

"Why so soon? You still have approximately what, 7, 8 months to prepare for this. There's no need for any rush," Sally said.

"Sally has a point, Quatre. You have more at stake here than Relena and me. We can wait for another few months," Heero told him.

Quatre smiled. "Thanks for your concern, Heero, but it's ok. I want you both to enjoy Relena's pregnancy together. I know that Relena will need you now more than ever before. And I want you to be there for her every step of the way as her husband and not her bodyguard in front of everyone."

"But what about you, Quatre? The Council might force you to resign your position as the Head of the Colony delegates. You also might lose your business deals. And don't forget your sisters. Aside from that, they might also force Trowa to resign his position as the head of the Preventer base here. We must not be hasty in our decisions. We should think about how you two can avoid all the hassles that will come as consequences of our actions," Relena said. 

"As for me, I don't care whether they remove me or not," Trowa informed them. "Do what you have to do and don't worry about me."

"I'm resolute with my decision, Relena. Why wait longer if we can do it tomorrow? I'm really getting tired of all this sneaking around. I'm tired of pretending. If they want me to resign, so be it. As for my sisters, I can handle them. The business? Let's just see about that. But I assure you that the Winner Corporation wouldn't go down that fast," Quatre replied. "How about you? I know that you'll be in deep trouble too." 

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm already married and not in a million years are they going to succeed in having our marriage annulled. And I'm sure that they won't do anything against me or Heero. They wouldn't like to feel the wrath of the Perfect Soldier now, would they? As for my position, I love being the Vice Foreign Minister but I'll happily hand in my resignation if they really want me to."

"About your business, Quatre, I can help you. Besides, there are many open-minded businessmen out there. You don't need to deal with those prudish jerks anymore," Dorothy told him.

"And the fear of Trowa being removed as the Preventer head here is groundless. Lady Une wouldn't do anything as weak and dishonorable as that even if the President told her to. The Preventers is autonomous, the Council has no power over us," Wufei informed them.

"Yeah. Besides Trowa's record speak for himself. He's one of the best soldiers and best Preventer agents there is. They wouldn't fire him just because of some petty reason that wouldn't ever affect his job performance," Duo said.

Relena's eyes started to water. "Thank you guys so much. You are all heaven-sent. This little arrangement of ours wouldn't have lasted this long if you hadn't helped us." Hilde, Catherine, Dorothy and Sally hugged her.

"I agree with Relena. Thank you very, very much," Quatre said with feeling.

"We really appreciate everything you've done for us," Trowa told them.

"We're eternally grateful. We owe you big time," Heero added.

"I speak for everyone when I say you're welcome. What are friends for, right?" Hilde answered.

"Yeah. And we know that you'll do the same for us," Catherine said with a smile.

"But don't forget that you have to face Zechs and Noin first before facing the whole ESUN," Wufei reminded.

Relena paled. She had forgotten about her brother! _ Oh, boy. Tomorrow's gonna be bloody. _

Quatre glanced at Relena. "We'll talk to them after breakfast. I think it'll be for the best if we all be there, not only the four of us."

Everyone nodded. "That's it. That's the plan. You can all go back to sleep. I have to call the Council and the press for an emergency Press Conference tomorrow."

A series of goodnights was heard as Duo and Hilde, Wufei and Sally went back to their rooms.

  
  


Noin donned her robe and slipped out of the bathroom. "Don't take too long, hon," Zechs called out inside the bathroom. Noin chuckled. She was going to the kitchen to get some whipped cream and ice cubes. She barely opened the door when she saw Wufei and Sally, Duo and Hilde cautiously went out of Trowa's room. Noin scowled. _What in the world are they doing there? And what's so special about Trowa's room anyways that people keep on sneaking out of it? _ she wondered. She waited until the two couples were in their rooms before she went out and made her way to the kitchen to get their **special** ingredients for the night. 

  
  
  
Next on Mismatched… How will Zechs, Noin and the whole ESUN react to Quatre and Relena's announcement? 


	5. The truth and nothing but

Mismatched   
  
**Disclaimer: **MINE! All mine! Except for Gundam Wing and its characters that is. But everything else is MINE! (Possessive, ne?)   
  
Dun, dun, dun, dun. There's something at the end that I think I forgot to warn you about (hehe). For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Mismatched**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Chapter 5: The truth and nothing but **

  
  
  
** 7th day (a.k.a. the last day of their vacation) **

The twelve of them gathered inside the drawing room after breakfast. Zechs, Noin, Catherine and Dorothy occupied the couch. Duo and Hilde sat on a loveseat while Sally and Wufei chose a divan by the corner. Heero and Trowa leaned against the wall, standing behind Quatre and Relena who stood facing the rest of them. Zechs and Noin stared at the pair expectantly.

"So?" Zechs prompted.

"Umm, we just want to inform you that we called an emergency Press Conference. The ESUN Council Members and the media will be here in about an hour," Relena said.

"I see. You're going to announce Relena's pregnancy," Noin stated.

Quatre and Relena looked at each other. "That and some other important stuff. But before we make the announcement to the public, we want to tell you something about what has been going on in this house first," Quatre told them. 

"I think I already know what you're going to tell us, Quatre. It's about you and Trowa, right?" Zechs replied.

Quatre frowned. _How did he know?_ "Yes."

"So you're ready to admit that you're cheating on Relena?"

Wufei and Sally grimaced. They forgot to tell them about their discussion with Zechs yesterday!

"Huh?"

"Don't deny it! I saw you and Trowa kissing by the bar 2 days ago. And from what I've seen so far, I can safely conclude that you've been having this extra-marital affair for a long time now." Zechs stopped when he realized something. "Or maybe, you didn't stop your relationship and just used your marriage to Relena as a cover so the gossip about you and Trowa will die out. That way you can maintain your reputation and keep your position as Head of the Colony delegates. That's it, isn't it?"

"Zechs, you don't understand---"

"What's to understand?! I perfectly understand that you're cheating on Relena and Trowa's cheating on Dorothy! Then you have the gall to announce your infidelity to the whole ESUN! You want to humiliate my sister in front of all those people by telling them that you're having an affair with another man!!"

Noin restrained her husband as he stood up in anger. "Zechs stop it. Relena is not entirely the victim here. Relena is cheating on Quatre too. I saw her and Heero kissing in the kitchen 2 days ago."

Duo and Hilde gulped. With the news of Relena's pregnancy occupying their minds, they failed to tell everyone about their talk with Noin yesterday! 

"WHAT?!" Zechs yelled incredulously. He looked Relena straight in the eye. "Is this true?"

"Milliardo, let me explain---"

Zechs' eyes widened. "You mean to tell me you're all cheating on each other?!!!"

"Milliardo, that's not it---"

"I can't believe this! I'm under the assumption that you're all friends here. How can you do this to each other?! And what's worse, you're planning to reveal this little mismatching of yours to everybody!!!"

"Milliardo, please just listen---"

"Don't tell me that Wufei and Sally, Duo and Hilde are swapping partners too?!"

"Preposterous! I won't let any man touch my onna!"

"And I don't like sharing my babe with anyone else."

"Sorry, Duo is not my type. No offense."

"And I don't like guys with big foreheads. No offense too."

Zechs then turned to look at Dorothy and Catherine. "Or maybe you two are having an affair too since it's a fad nowadays and your respective boyfriends are sneaking behind your backs?"

Dorothy raised her hands in exasperation. "AAGGGHH! Why do people always ask that about us? Does it look like we have a relationship?"

"Oh, no! Our relationship is plainly platonic, I assure you," Catherine told him.

Zechs returned his attention to Heero, Relena, Trowa and Quatre. "Aren't you ashamed of yourselves? Of all people, I didn't expect this from the four of you! So who among you three is the father of Relena's child then, huh?"

"Milliardo---"

"Are you sure it's you, Quatre? Or is it Heero? Or maybe it's Tro---"

"MILLIARDO, WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP!!!"

Zechs' mouth froze in midair as he looked at his usually peaceful sibling while the others stared at her with wide eyes. But Heero just smirked, he expected as much. If she could scream in pleasure, why couldn't she scream in anger?

"Thank you," Relena said curtly. "If it's any normal circumstance I'll be fuming mad right now with your remark, Milliardo. How dare you question my integrity? But since there's nothing normal about this scenario and it's not your fault that you thought of such a thing so I'll let it pass. Now, to answer your question, Heero is the father of my child."

Zechs' eyes were in the verge of popping out of their sockets as he stared at Relena, then at Heero, then back at Relena again. "My God! So that's why you're having this Press Conference. You're going to announce that you and Quatre are getting a divorce so you can marry Heero and the child won't be illegitimate."

Relena smiled at him. "That's not it actually. I don't need to divorce Quatre to marry Heero. Heero and I were already married."

Zechs opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. Noin voiced out his question for him. "Huh? You mean you had a divorce earlier in secret then you married Heero?"

"No. Quatre and I were never married."

A whole horde of flies could had fit in Zechs' mouth by now as he continued to gape at them. "Not married? What are you talking about? You said Duo married you! What about that whole elopement thing?" Noin asked.

"They really did elope. And I did marry them. But I married Relena and Heero, not Relena and Quatre," Duo answered.

Realization dawned on them. "You mean---" Noin trailed off.

"Everything is a lie," Trowa finished for her.

"And you're all in to it," Zechs spat out.

Duo, Hilde, Wufei, Sally, Catherine and Dorothy nodded nervously.

"Why? Why do all of this?" Noin inquired.

Relena sighed. "It seems like a good idea by that time. I know that you've done your best to change the Council's mind about the whole me-marrying-a-Colony-delegate-to-secure-an-alliance thing and I'm thankful for that. But I can't just sit down and do nothing while the Council decide whom I'm going to marry. I have to try and save myself."

"So this is all your idea?" Zechs asked.

"She's the one who originally came up with the idea. I'm the one responsible for all the details," Heero informed them.

"Since the rumors about me and Trowa spread out, the Council started to get in my case, my sisters pressured me more to get married and I lost some of my investors and clients. When Relena and Heero came to discuss the plan with me and Trowa, we readily agreed. It was simply brilliant. We could make everyone happy while Relena and I can be with the ones we truly love."

"But we know that this is not a permanent deal. That eventually, we have to confess the truth and face the consequences of our actions. We just hoped that when that day comes, everybody would understand why we resorted to this kind of action," Trowa said.

"How long did you plan to keep this up?" Zechs asked again.

"Until the time calls for us to come clean. Like Relena getting pregnant," Heero answered.

"So this pregnancy is an accident? That you had an agreement not to get Relena pregnant soon so this arrangement of yours will continue longer?" Noin queried.

"Oh, not at all. We're not the kind of people who'll make such an agreement. We left it to fate to decide when we'll tell the truth. Like a sign or something. I guess we're just lucky that Relena didn't get pregnant quickly and our plan lasted this long," Quatre told them.

Zechs turned to address Relena. "And why did you keep this thing from me?"

Relena approached him. "To protect you. I know that when we confess the truth, we'll be in deep trouble. And if the Council discovered that you're one of our accomplices, you'll get in trouble too. They already had a hard time trusting you when I made you Chief Representative of the Sanc Kingdom after you and Noin returned from Mars two years ago, being the person who once planned to destroy the whole Earth during the Eve Wars. You just had proven yourself to them, I don't want to destroy that hard-earned respect they had of you."

"But you lied to me! You don't know how much that hurts, Relena! My own sister kept things from me while you told the truth to all of our other friends!"

"And I'm sorry! I'm so sorry for causing you to feel that way. But it hurts me too! It hurts me terribly to lie to you! I've undergone a tremendous amount of torment this past year because of the thought of lying to my own brother."

"Well, you should feel horrible. You made a fool out of me, Relena. You all made a fool out of everyone."

Relena reached out to touch him. "Milliardo, I'm---"

"Don't you dare touch me, Relena. And don't tell me you're sorry again. You're not. I love you, you're my sister, but I just don't like you right now," Zechs said as he stormed out of the room.

Noin looked at Relena first before going after her husband. They heard someone slammed the main door.

Tears started to fall on Relena's face. Heero went to her and enveloped her in his arms. "I don't know if he'll ever forgive me," Relena said softly.

Heero smiled at her. "He will. He's hurt and shocked, that's all. He'll come around." Heero gently wiped away her tears. "We better get ready. This is only the first part of the announcement. The last part will come soon."

Relena nodded. She then saw Quatre and Trowa holding hands. At least the bloodiest part was over. For her, that is. For Trowa and Quatre, it would just begin. 

  
  


***************************************

  


Zechs walked briskly, Noin keeping up with him. They had been walking aimlessly for more than 30 minutes now. He was not sure where he was headed, all that he was certain about was that he had to get as far away as possible from the mansion.

The two of them just entered the city. "Zechs, where are we going?"

"I have no idea."

"Then why are we still walking? Maybe we should return to the mansion."

"No."

Noin looked at his face and saw how resolute he was in his decision not to go back. "Fine. But can we rest for a while? I'm tired and thirsty."

Zechs acquiesced and they entered the nearest coffee house. They ordered two iced coffees then they proceeded to sit outside. They silently sipped their drinks, Noin carefully studying him. Finally, she said, "You're still mad."

"Damn right I am. I have every right to," Zechs replied. He then stared at his wife. "You should be mad too, you know. They lied to us."

"Well at first I was shocked. Then I was hurt when I discovered that we're the only ones among the group who didn't know. But I was never mad."

"Why?" Zechs asked incredulously. 

"After listening to their explanation, I understood why they found it necessary to deceive everybody, us included. And I think that if I was in their position, I'll do the same."

"They still lied to us," Zechs said stubbornly.

"Be honest with yourself, Zechs. Aren't you relieved that they thought of the plan? That Relena wasn't forced to marry some weak Colony Delegate who doesn't love her and who couldn't protect her? That she actually married the only man she could ever love, the same man whom you like to be your brother-in-law? That Quatre and Trowa remained true to their selves and to their love?"

Zechs mulled over her words as he stared at the people passing by. "I guess you're right," he sighed. "It still hurts, though. It hurts me to think that they deceived us. And it hurts my ego to think that they were able to make a fool of us without us ever suspecting anything."

"But we did suspect. I had this funny feeling ever since we got here. And if I felt it, I'm sure you did too."

Zechs smiled. "So it really was Relena who screamed that night."

Noin chuckled. "Yup. We're not that stupid to not recognize Relena's voice. Also, even if Quatre's voice might sound a little feminine, we can still tell if it's him. But during that time, Relena shouting Heero's name was very impossible. It was either she was with Heero, which we knew was another big impossibility since she was married to Quatre and that you told me you saw her with Quatre that night, or she screamed Heero's name while she was making love to Quatre. And that was also impossible because Relena wouldn't be that tactless and Quatre wouldn't had allowed something like to happen. With this in mind, the only logical conclusion would be that we heard it wrong and it was not Relena. It was the same with Quatre. So when Catherine and Dorothy admitted that they were the ones who screamed, we readily accepted it coz it made more sense."

Zechs agreed with her. "We'd seen all the signs and just dismissed them coz they were all contrary to what we knew. We were blinded by our trust for them, never having thought of the possibility that they'll ever lie to us. We believed everything they told us, immediately accepting every explanation without question even if our instincts were shouting that something was horrendously wrong." 

"But I think that the only reason they were able to pull it off for an entire year without us getting suspicious was that they live far from us. And that we hadn't gotten the chance to spend some time with them. Do you think that if we're together, like this past week, they'll be able to keep up the pretense? And to be honest, I think the whole set-up is pretty hilarious. They all must have been terrified when we came to visit. I'm sure that they were afraid that they might slip or do something that will cause us to become suspicious. And just think of all the blunders and cover-ups they made this week. Like the screaming and the lingerie."

Zechs laughed. "Yeah. Don't forget about the slippers and the sudden outbursts. But what I don't get is how they can sneak in each other's rooms."

Their conversation was interrupted when the big screen on top of the building in front of them showed the image of Quatre and Relena. The Press Conference was about to start. 

  
  
** Conference room (Winner Mansion) **

Relena and Quatre stood by the podium, Trowa and Heero sitting behind them. The ESUN Council members sat facing the podium while the Press were scattered inside the room. Duo and the rest of the gang stood by the side, watching the whole proceedings. 

Quatre glanced at Relena. Relena smiled at him encouragingly and squeezed his hand. Quatre tapped the mike once then heaved a big sigh before addressing the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, we thank you for coming here even in a short notice. We just have something important to tell everyone." 

He saw the worried looks on each of their faces. "Don't worry, it's not about politics nor it is about another crisis or war. Our announcement is something personal. It's about Relena and myself." He paused as murmurs of speculations echoed in the room. "You all knew that last week is our first year wedding anniversary. That was not exactly true. Relena and I were never married."

The whole assembly stared at the pair uncomprehending. "What do you mean?" The President voiced out.

"Everything is an elaborate hoax. Relena and I didn't elope. We didn't get married. We just pretended to be a couple so I could protect my reputation, my business, my position and also to make my sisters happy. The rumors about me and Trowa made the Council and my clients uneasy." He smiled sadly. "I guess, they don't want to deal with a man who's in love with another man. And because working for the colonies and the business my father left for me to manage mean a lot to me, I pretended to be someone I'm not. But we're done pretending. **I'm ** done pretending. I'm tired of forever hiding my true self just to make everyone else happy. I have the right to be happy too, you know. But we didn't mean to fool everybody. I can recall a friend of mine saying that it's ok for a person to act on his emotions. And that's what we did, we acted on our emotions. There are just some things that are too important to lose." He stopped to glance at Trowa before continuing. "The heart can't be taught. It'll beat for whoever it chooses, whether one's logic agrees to it or not. And there's nothing anyone can do about it once that happens. With this in mind, I'm proud to announce to everybody that my heart and my logic are in consensus when I say that I love Trowa. And Trowa loves me." He paused again, gauging the reaction of the crowd. "I'm not asking for your pity, or even for you to accept me. All I want is for you to know who I really am, everything else is all up to you. If you can't tolerate doing business with someone like me, I completely understand. If you think that this is something that will affect my performance as the Head of the Colony delegates, just tell me, I'm more than willing to resign my post. That's all I'm going to say. Thank you."

The audience was stunned silent. Relena put a comforting hand on Quatre, smiling her approval of his speech. Quatre smiled back, knowing that it was her turn to speak.

"What Quatre said is true. You can't help whom you love. And love can't be forced either. I know that the Council's main purpose for telling me to marry a Colony delegate is to secure peace and all of you knew that I'll do anything to maintain peace. But this is asking too much. There are other ways to secure peace, there's no need for me to sacrifice my own happiness. That's why I came up with this plan, so I wouldn't be forced to marry whoever the Council had chosen for me. My heart already chose whom to beat for, whom to love. And I'm proud to say that his heart beats for me too. Because of this, I couldn't be forced to marry anyone but him." Relena glanced at Heero and smiled. "Quatre and I didn't get married, Heero and I did. In fact, last week was our first year wedding anniversary. And we just received some news telling us that we're going to have our first baby." She paused and beamed at the crowd, channeling her joy. Then her expression grew somber again. "We apologize if we offended or hurt anyone. We didn't mean to deceive anybody. We just hope that you understand why we found it necessary to do this. And for the record, my brother, Milliardo and his wife, Noin had nothing to do with this deception. I'm the one wholly responsible for this. So if the Council wishes for me to resign my position because of this, I'll gladly grant their wish. That's all. If anyone from the Council wants to say something, you may now have the floor."

While the Council members were softly discussing, the media people were in a frenzy. Tape recorders were rewound then played, pictures were being shot, TV reportes were doing their live broadcasts and columnists were writing their articles. They didn't have anything more to ask Relena and Quatre since they already told them everything. They were just waiting for the Council's verdict.

Finally, the President stood up and addressed Relena and Quatre. "To say that we were shocked is an understatement. You really dropped a big bombshell there. But we should have expected this, we've been pretty hard on the two of you, haven't we? Both of you had been strong advocates of peace from the very beginning, it's very unfair of us to treat you as mere pawns or to judge you in a biased manner. And being as strong-willed as you two are, we completely understand why you resorted to such actions. Actually, we are under the impression that we're the ones responsible for forcing you into this mess. For that, we apologize. And what you did has no relation to your present position nor would it affect your job performance. Your records speak for yourselves and it's our strong belief that there are no other persons out there who can do your jobs better than you." The President smiled at them. "We will never dream of asking you to resign. Let's just forget about this whole thing and look forward to the future. The Council wish you both eternal happiness with the ones you love."

Quatre and Relena beamed gratefully at the President and the whole Council. Everything turned out fine! They went down the podium to shake hands with the Council Members. The reporters started their questions.

"Mr. President, what about the Peace Alliance with the colonies?"

"Will you make Miss Relena's husband into a Colony delegate so the alliance will not be declared null and void?"

"Well, I believe that Miss Relena's husband, Heero Yuy, wouldn't like to become a Colony delegate," The President said, glancing at Heero. Heero nodded his ascent. "So the only thing left to do is to arrange another marriage."

"WHAT?!" is the collective exclamation.

"Don't you think it's unwise to propose another marriage? You've seen what happened with Miss Relena and Mr. Winner," a reporter asked.

"What about that 'you can't help the one you love', 'love can't be forced' thing?" another reporter asked.

"It was the Council's mistake to force Miss Relena into a marriage when we all knew that she has a boyfriend. So we're going to choose a female Council member who doesn't have any boyfriend to marry a Colony delegate," The President replied.

Everybody sweatdropped. But all of the Colony delegates who didn't have any girlfriends gulped hard. The only female Council member who didn't have a boyfriend was…

The President continued, "And I already have the perfect candidate in mind. The Minister of Earth Affairs, Miss Charisma Chavez." 

All eyes turned to a hawk-faced, scary woman in mid-thirties, with black hair and green eyes. She glared at everybody.

"Her name doesn't suit her! It doesn't look like she has any charisma!" Wufei exclaimed.

Charisma heard Wufei's outburst and stared evilly at him. Wufei subtlely hid behind Sally. 

"I agree with Wufei. She doesn't even look like a woman," Dorothy said. 

"She's so scary, she'll put Cruella de Vil to shame," Hilde whispered.

"Who's Cruella de Vil?" Catherine asked.

"The one who wanted to kidnap the 101 dalmatians and make them into a fur coat," Sally answered. 

"Oooh, she really is mean," Catherine replied. She stared with loathing at the scary woman. If Cruella de Vil was that mean and Hilde said that she was nothing compared to Charisma, Charisma must be really evil. 

"May God pity the soul of the man she's going to marry," Duo prayed.

Quatre and Relena looked at each other. So the Council still hadn't learned from its mistakes then. There's going to be another show like this next year, they were sure of it. But they just shrugged and smiled at everyone. At least, it was not their problem anymore.

  
  


Noin turned to Zechs when they saw the end of the Press Conference and the big screen flickered off. "So?"

Zechs smiled at her. "I think I'm ready to go back."

"It's about time. We'll be going home tomorrow so we should better enjoy this last day we're all together."

Both of them stood up and hand-in-hand, they headed back to the mansion. 

  


***************************************

  


Zechs and Noin found Quatre, Trowa, Heero and Relena in the study. Quatre just finished talking to his sisters. He was glad that they understood why he had lied to them. And also, he was relieved that they accepted him for who he really was.

"You really know how to make one hell of a Press Conference," Zechs greeted. 

The 4 occupants of the room looked at him. "You saw it?" Qautre asked.

"Yeah. We were in a coffee house in the city and there was this outdoor screen. Your speeches were great," Noin answered.

"You forgive us?" Relena asked quietly.

Noin gave them a smile as an answer. Zechs went to Relena and hugged her. "Of course. You know that I couldn't stay mad at you."

He then released her and addressed the three younger men. "I apologize for what I'd said earlier. I was shocked, hurt and angry, simultaneously. I didn't mean all those harsh words. And I don't have the right to accuse nor to judge any of you."

"No need to apologize, Zechs. We understand. And it's not your fault. We led you to believe something different. Your reaction is quite normal and expected," Trowa told him.

"But I want you to know that I'm glad you came up with that arrangement. I'm very happy for all of you," Zechs said.

"Same goes for me. We wish you all the happiness in the world," Noin added. 

Relena hugged her. "Thanks."

Quatre smiled at the older pair. "Thanks. That means a lot to us." Heero and Trowa nodded their thank you's.

"So you really are my brother-in-law," Zechs told Heero.

"Hn. Hope you're not disappointed."

"No, not at all. You remember what I told you at the bar, right?"

"Right."

"And I remember what you told me at the bar too, Zechs," Quatre said, grinning. "I didn't know you're a sentimental guy."

Zechs groaned. "Please don't ever remind me of that."

Trowa, Heero and Quatre grinned mischievously. Oh, they were definitely going to remind him of that.

Noin and Relena laughed at the four of them. "Now that everything's settled, we must celebrate," Noin told them.

"I completely agree. Let's call the others so we can have one last bash together," Relena said.

The 3 couples were on their way out of the room when Zechs suddenly asked, "By the way, how did you guys manage to sneak in and out of your rooms with ease?"

Qautre, Trowa, Relena and Heero looked at each other. Heero's face was deadpan but his eyes glinted with mischief when he replied, "Very simple, Zechs. There were holes in our walls."

  
  
** The next day...**  
  


The twelve of them went to the spaceport. Duo and Hilde were the first ones to say goodbye, the flight to L2 being the earliest. Next were Catherine and Dorothy. They were both returning to L3. Then it was Sally, Wufei, Zechs and Noin's turn to go. All of them were headed back to Earth, to the Sanc Kingdom. Finally…

Quatre, Trowa, Relena and Heero stood looking at each other. Relena went to Quatre and hugged him. "This past year was a blast. I'll miss you," Relena breathed.

"I'll miss you, too. The house wouldn't be the same without the two of you," Quatre told her.

Relena smiled at him. "Don't worry. We'll come to visit. And we could always see each other at the Council meeting and the other gatherings that come with our jobs."

"Don't work too hard, ok? Remember, there's two of you now in your body."

"I know," Relena answered as she kissed him on the cheek.

Trowa nodded at Heero. "I'll miss battling with you in the simulation room."

"Me too," Heero answered. Their faces were expressionless but their eyes showed their true emotions. They might not be blood related but they were brothers in spirit. "I'm going to build my own simulation room. You can come and try it out when I'm finished."

"Sure. Take care of Relena."

"And you take care of Quatre." 

Relena then turned to Trowa and hugged him. Trowa kissed the top of her golden head. "Take care, Relena. Don't overdo yourself."

"Yes, boss," Relena grinned. "I'll miss you. Watch over Quatre for me, will you?"

"Sure do."

Quatre shook hands with Heero. He wanted to hug him but everyone knew that Heero only allowed Relena to touch him. "Thanks for everything, Heero."

"No, thank ** you**, Quatre."

"So I guess we're just even then," Quatre told him with a smile. "Call me if ever you need anything."

"Hn. It was nice sneaking around with you."

Quatre laughed. "And also with you."

Trowa and Quatre watched Heero and Relena went inside. Trowa put an arm on Quatre's shoulders. "I'm going to miss them terribly," Quatre said.

"Me too. We got used to being with them this past year."

"If only I could ask them to just stay…"

Trowa looked him in the eye. "You know that they need to be on their own. They're starting a family afterall."

"I know. It's just wishful thinking."

"Don't worry. Even apart, we'll always be friends," Trowa told him as they went to their limo and headed back home.

  
  
** Inside the shuttle headed for L1… **

"I'll be back," Heero told Relena as he stood up and went to the bathroom. Relena took something out from her bag and stared at it. It was a picture of a house. It was the wedding gift of Milliardo and Noin to them. Technically, to her and Quatre. Relena smiled as she remembered when Milliardo asked her what she wanted for her wedding. The expression on his face was priceless when she asked for a house in L1. _ I think he's having suspicions then, _ she thought. Aside from Quatre having so many houses already, L1 was Heero's home colony. But after telling him that it'll serve as a vacation house, he acquiesced. Relena knew that after their charade was over, she and Heero would have to live on their own, so they just planned ahead and got ready. The house was fully furnished and they already had servants. It might not be as grand as the Peacecraft Palace nor as big as the Winner Mansion, but it was home. **Their** home. Her reverie was cut short when she heard the stewardess talk to her.

"Can I get you something, Mrs. Winner?" the stewardess asked.

Relena looked at her and smiled. "No, thank you. And the name's Yuy. Mrs. Heero Yuy."

The stewardess reddened as she remembered the announcement yesterday. A handsome guy with brown hair suddenly appeared behind her and sat down next to Relena.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't think…" the stewardess stammered.

Relena smiled at her again. "That's ok." She turned to Heero. "Do you want anything, Heero?"

"No thanks."

The stewardess nodded then left. Heero smiled at Relena before leaning over to capture her lips. He heard what Relena said to the stewardess and he was glad. Finally, the pretense was over. They didn't need to be anybody but themselves.

  
  
** In another shuttle… **  
  


Dorothy and Catherine grinned at each other. "I told you they wouldn't suspect," Dorothy said.

"As usual you're right. Sleeping in separate rooms was a nice idea. But that little charade with Heero and Trowa was scary," Catherine answered.

"I know. Those two can easily notice even the smallest details. The silent ones were always the most observant. It was a good thing they were too caught up with their own problems to ever bother analyzing us."

"But Duo, always the nosy one, suspected. And don't forget Zechs," Catherine said.

"You know Duo. It's just like him to assume things. And we told him the truth. We didn't do anything but sleep during those 5 days for fear of Heero, Trowa, Quatre and Relena barging in and accidentally catching us. As for Zechs, well, it was his anger talking. He didn't really suspect anything," Dorothy answered.

"But we have to tell them eventually. We couldn't hide this forever."

Dorothy held her hand and squeezed it. "Hey, don't worry. We'll tell them soon. Maybe on Duo and Hilde's 2nd year wedding anniversary."

Catherine smiled at her then settled back and closed her eyes. _ I can't wait to see the look on Duo's face when he finds out he's right all along, _ she grinned to herself as she drift off to sleep.

  
  
  


~THE END ~ 

  
  
That's it for Mismatched. Hope you had fun reading this. I know I did. Tell me if the last part scared you, though. Hope it's not a way overboard. But as I said, this fic will be full of ironies. To all of you who waited patiently for the end of this fic, thank you. And if you enjoyed this fic, I assure you that you'll also enjoy my other fics (hehe, no harm in free advertisement). 'Til next time. 


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